


Paradox Space

by Monodoof



Category: Big Hero 6 (2014), Brave (2012), Frozen (2013), Homestuck, How to Train Your Dragon (Movies), Rise of the Guardians (2012), Tangled (2010)
Genre: But yeah I'll update those whenever I get there, I'm still not sure on all the ships, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-29
Updated: 2015-08-03
Packaged: 2018-03-09 12:51:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 31,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3250337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Monodoof/pseuds/Monodoof
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"It begins to dawn on you that everything you just did may have been a colossal waste of time." <br/>Sburb AU. <br/>A group of 7 friends decide to play a new and mysterious PC game called Sburb. Little do they know that this will start a chain reaction of events that will change their lives and futures forever in ways they never imagined. HTTYD X ROTG with Frozen and BH6 characters. Will have Hijack.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. ACT 1-1: Beta

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, Monodoof here!
> 
> So... what is this,you ask? Why yes, this is YET another HiJack fic I'm working one. Something on the side that I've been writing alongside my other Hijack fic "Danganronpa: New Students of Hope and Camp Trip of Despair"
> 
> This fic will be a Sburb AU one. To most of the internet-savvy people, it would be a Homestuck AU. Yes, I can hear you gasping in shock and I can already see you itching to click the back button. But do not be alarmed. While this fic is indeed based on the universe and concepts of that infamous webcomic, it is not a direct copy nor a sequel nor anything of the sort. So relax, there will be no Karkats or Johns or Vriskas on this fic. It will merely be about a group of friends playing a rather unique game.
> 
> For those that haven't read Homestuck, this will be an unique experience that I hope you enjoy. For the ones that have read Homestuck... I hope my take is enough of your liking.
> 
> With all that said, this is a side fic. My other fic will have priority over this one so updates will be more sporadic than usual. Still, I do hope you enjoy!

**ACT 1 - The Note Isolation Plays -**

**\- Chapter 1: Beta-**

A young man stands in his room. He's staring vacantly at the green walls, which are mostly bare with the exception of a few posters and a calendar hung on them.

This is a thing he does a lot when he doesn't have much to do after school. But then again, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third was a known loner to everyone in Berk, so this kind of behavior wasn't that unusual, even when taking in consideration what day it was today.

It just so happened that today was Hiccup's fifteenth birthday. Even so, for the skinny, auburn haired youth, it was a day as any other. He didn't consider birthdays anything special, most likely because he didn't have any friends to spend them with, his family being the only ones that bothered enough to be happy about his birth.

Well, that wasn't entirely true... but as far as Hiccup was concerned, none of the kids in his school liked him. And it wasn't because he was a troublesome kid. In reality, Hiccup was a shy and awkward, with a propensity to speak his mind through mumbled sarcastic remarks. Adding to that his interests in nerdy stuff and his admittedly puny physique, and it was no wonder that the local jocks would pick on him.

Despite all the bullying, though, Hiccup soldiered on. And though he wasn't that fond of birthdays (when asked, he would always answer "It's just another day. No big deal!"), he WAS looking forward to something today.

Today was the release date of SBURB, a highly anticipated videogame for the PC and if he remembered correctly, it was going to arrive in the mail today.

Hiccup was aware of how nerdy it was of him to be this excited over a videogame, but he didn't care. If there was something that always helped him feel better after an exhausting school day of avoiding the bullies, it was videogames. He was so ecstatic to play it that the auburn-haired youth constantly checked his wall calendar (A calendar that featured a picture of a dragon for each month; Thor knows where his mom found it.) just to see if he had the correct date.

Hearing a noise outside the window, Hiccup excitedly went to see, his hopes high only to be dashed as he saw the source of the noise: his Dad's car.

"Aw geez... I thought it was the mail...", lamented Hiccup as he saw his mountain of a father, a direct contrast of him, get out of the car and march towards the house.

Hiccup wasn't looking forward to seeing his father today. Don't misunderstand, Hiccup loves his father a lot... but in the young boy's mind, he just felt like he never measured up to his father's expectations. It wasn't a secret that Stoick Haddock wished for a boy to play football with, or to indulge in ridiculous activities like lifting safes as rites of adulthood (Hiccup never understood where this particular one came from). And even though Stoick never expressed it, the young boy could easily see the disappointment in his father's eyes whenever he mentioned one of his favorite shows, or whenever he talked about a new invention that he was working on.

And though his mother, Valka, insisted that his father did love him... well, Hiccup had never seen any evidence of that fact.

And to think that he had to endure Stoick's judging gaze for the entire evening during the inevitable party his mom was going to throw for him...

A sigh escaped the brunette's lips. He only wanted to get his package before his father arrived, start up the game, and play with his friends...

Hiccup heavily considered the fact that the mailman was out to get him before dismissing the entire idea as silly.

Really, he was mostly looking forward to SBURB because of his friends. One of his friends was the one that actually told him about the game and it was because of this friend that everyone agreed to play it.

You're probably thinking, "wait, didn't you say that hiccup didn't have any friends", and again, you'd be mistaken for assuming so. Hiccup was indeed friendless on school, but that didn't mean he didn't have friends. Even though the young boy was too awkward to make friends in real life, he did manage to meet and befriend a group of kids his age on the internet.

A sound coming from Hiccup's laptop made the boy tear his gaze away from the window. The brunette smiled as he heard the sound; he had received a message on Pesterchum, an IM application that he used to chat with his friends.

Hiccup's laptop wasn't anything special, yet his desktop clearly hinted at the boy's interests. A picture of a black dragon with astonishing green eyes, the beast in midflight, was his wallpaper and all around the desktop were icons which when clicked would open up diagrams of current, previous and future inventions the brunette had in mind. Aside from that, a few music sheets (Hiccup was taking violin classes but he wasn't particularly good yet) a direct access to his web browser, Naga, and the Pesterchum chat client, there wasn't much to look at.

"Just when I needed a distraction...", Hiccup mumbled to himself as he walked over his computer and brought up the IM window with a faint smile. A list of all his friend's usernames (or "chumhandles", as the program called them) popped up, but the only one online right now was the one who had sent him a message. The brunette clicked on the shining notification and instantly the message popped up:

\- combativeTechnologist [CT] started pestering tinyGlaurung [TG} at 8: 15 AM-

"CT: Hey hiccup! Happy birthday!"

The auburn-haired kid rolled his eyes as he read the message filled with palpable excitement. His friend was always like this on special occasions, but then again, that was one of the things he liked about him. The brunette took a seat in order to type out a response to his friend's wishes.

"TG: Thanks, Hiro. Though it really hasn't been that great of a birthday yet, to be honest..."

A reply came in shortly after a brief pause.

"CT: Oh? What happened dude? Did you get in a fight with your dad again?"

"TG: Nah, I've been avoiding him all day like usual. I was just hoping that the game would get here before he arrived so that we could play a little before my party started... but it seems like I'll have to cross paths with him if I want to get the game."

Honestly, Hiccup would rather spend the evening cooped up in his room, if possible. With a sigh, the brunette sent another message quickly before Hiro got another word in.

"TG: Do I really have to play this game...? You know... I'd really not deal with my dad more than I absolutely need to...'"

"CT: We went through this already hiccup! You have to, no you MUST play this game! All of us need to play it! It is essential!"

Hiccup rolled his eyes as he read Hiro's message. He had expected a response like this, because really, whenever any of Hiccup's friends expressed their doubts in playing the game, Hiro would instantly spring on them, urging them and almost demanding them to play the game.

The brunette sighed as he typed his response, already used to this treatment.

"TG: Does this have to do with your whole "I'm going to give you guys cryptic remarks without ever telling you what they mean" spiel, Hiro?"

Hiccup had met Hiro on an internet messaging board he used to frequent to discuss tips for building mechanisms and inventions. From the start, the brunette could tell this kid was unique. When Hiro first started posting on the board, his english was awkward and he would constantly use Japanese words or badly Google Translate equivalents. Despite this short-coming, though, Hiccup could tell Hiro was smart; everything he said was on point and correct. There was another thing that made Hiro stand out though: It was the fact that from the very beginning, he purposely seeked to befriend Hiccup. Be it on the threads or via private messaging, Hiro would always greet Hiccup and through garbled conversations, the two quickly became acquaintances and later on friends.

Now, Hiccup liked Hiro. True, the Japanese teen had a bit of an arrogant streak, but he was witty, funny, smart and very honest and understanding whenever he wanted to be. Which wasn't a lot but he still was a lot of fun to hang out with, and it also helped that he shared his passion of inventing stuff. He was easy to get along with and he befriended all of Hiccup's other friends with ease.

However, there was one thing that Hiccup never understood about Hiro.

"CT: Yeah but uh... yeah, sorry I guess this does have to do with my whole 'alluding to things' crap, sorry."

A month after meeting him, Hiro started to make remarks that were odd at best. Somehow, the kid was able to predict things that would happen and he often reacted unsurprised by some of their friends' occurrences, as if he had expected them to happen. He was even able to tell what someone was going to say before they even typed it.

It was as if Hiro could tell the future.

Of course, Hiccup didn't actually believe that. After all, Hiro wasn't above making pranks. It could be just coincidences. Or perhaps Hiro had very good intuition; he was pretty smart after all.

Because, really, from the future? There is no such thing as time traveler... so the only logical explanation was that Hiro had just gotten lucky on his guesses, right?

Still, Hiccup was curious about his friend's behavior... How did he even manage to know all these things? What if... what if he actually could see the future? How much did he know? Is that why he wanted play the game...?

Hiccup's mind flooded with what-ifs and scenarios. He knew entertaining those scenarios was silly and a waste of time. Because there was no rationale behind such things. That kind of stuff was only real in works of fiction. But a part of him wanted to believe they were real, just like when he once wanted magic to be real (Before his father harshly revealed that no such things existed).

Knowing full well that he was treading on a minefield, Hiccup proceeded to type out his question.

"TG:Well, uh, could you tell me how you know these things you allude to? I'm kinda curious now, to be honest. "

"CT: IIIIIIIIIIII wish i could hiccup... i really wish i could! But im not allowed to say...! I'm sorry i wish i could tell you or all of you guys everything but i dont want to mess things up! im sorry..."

Hiccup sighed to himself as he read the other boy's message. Yeah, he expected as much. If this was something Hiro wanted to share, he would have done so already; he was kind of a chatterbox when he got excited, so he either doesn't want to share or can't actually share.

Still, even if he had expected this answer, that didn't mean Hiccup was satisfied with the answer.

"TG: Well, is there something you can tell me :? I'm just baffled at how much you guessed correctly, so I'm guessing you know something. Is there anything you can tell me...?"

Hiccup hated to sound like he was pleading but his curious mind was in need of answers and he was going to get some.

"CT: Well hmmm..."

"CT: I guessss..."

"CT: I can tell you more about the game we're about to play... thats something im allowed to say at the moment!"

Hiccup smiled. Hiro had talked about the game to all of them, but he was always kind of vague. So if he was going to actually say more... well, then that means there's something to get excited about now.

"TG: Oh, that would be nice. I mean, your explanations about the game left a lot out."

"CT: I'm sorry about hiccup but i couldn't really do anything with about that u_u"

"TG: Don't worry about that. At least you're going to give us full disclosure this time right?"

"CT: Weeeeeeeeell... about that... im sorry, this is going to be more of my ambigous bullshit im afraid..."

Hiccup sighed. He kinda expected this kind of answer from his friend.

"CT: But I CAN tell you something though... and thats the fact that we HAVE to all play this game starting today."

"TG: And I suppose you aren't going to tell me the why..."

"CT: Yeah... your supposition is right..."

Yeah, he was kinda expecting that answer. Hiccup remembered his group of friends and a chuckle escaped his lips.

"TG: Well, good luck getting all of us to play the game. You know how hard it is to get ahold of Jack and Merida."

"CT: Ugh dont remind me... why cant they just stay still?"

"TG: Or why don't they carry around their phones with them? Leaving them at home beats the entire purpose of having one."

"CT: *rolls eyes* I swear sometimes i think we're the only smart people in our group..."

"TG: Hahaha, true that."

Hiccup was only half-joking. He liked all of his friends a lot but sometimes those two drove him up a wall... for different reasons. One of them took this too lightly and much preferred to play outside than to sit all day inside his house... while the other was too aggressive for her own good and hated to be on her house for extended periods of time.

But Hiccup (and Hiro) knew they were good people.

A noise outside his window caught his attention. The auburn-haired boy quickly stood up from his chair and went to look, hopes high in his heart. Maybe this time...!

Taking out a smartphone from his jean's pocket, Hiccup quickly typed a response on the phone's Pesterchum app.

"TG: Hold on a second, Hiro."

When Hiccup gazed outside the window, all he saw was the familiar scenery of the village of Berk, the surrounding houses all having this weird rustic style. Berk was a village still deeply rooted in the old ways, and the inhabitants of the town where very proud of their Viking ancestry.

Hiccup would have been proud of this too, if the whole Viking ancestry wasn't the reason all the kids at school made fun of him. Among the Berkian population, looking like a burly warrior wasn't weird. Indeed, kids and even women looked the part.

Which only made Hiccup stand out more. He was so unlike a Viking that it wasn't funny.

Hiccup's gaze didn't linger on the houses, though. What he was looking for was more close at home. He scanned his own frontyard and his spirits plummeted. No mailman. He was sure he had heard a delivery truck... and that the game had arrived but...

His green eyes zeroed onto the Haddock residence mailbox and he grinned happily as he processed what he was seeing.

The mailbox had its red flag raised. It looked like something was delivered after all.

He quickly sent Hiro a message in his excitement.

"TG: Hiro, it's here!"

"CT: What"

"TG: The mail came! The little red arm-swingy-dealy thing or whatever it is called is flipped up! "

"CT: Whoa hiccup slow down a bit there."

Hiccup couldn't help it. He was apparently far more excited about the game than he thought and the mere idea that it was here sent him in a rambling mood.

"TG: What the hell is that thing called anyway? I don't have time for these semantics! The red flippy-lever thing means I have new mail! And that means the beta might be here!"

"CT: Aaaand hes gone... we've lost him ladies and gentlemen..."

Hiccup ignored the sarcastic jab and instead focused on the mailbox. If the game WAS here, he only had to elude his parents and get back to his room with the game unnoticed-

"TG: Wait... hold on... what's that...?"

A flash of green light shone near the mailbox and the brunette's expression turned to one of dismay.

"TG: Oh no... not now..."

"CT: What?"

From that flash of green light emerged a black dragon, who was sniffing the mailbox with a curious expression. Hiccup couldn't do anything but to look as the creature stuck his snout inside the mailbox before retreating with a package on his mouth. Before the viking could even say something, the creature vanished in a similar flash of green light and with that, he was gone.

He had only seen the package from far away and for an instant, but he was sure... that package was the game; Hiccup had seen the logo of the game on it.

The brunette groaned loudly as he let his head hit the window's glass. Perfect. Just PERFECT. Of course things were going too well.

"TG: TOOTHLESS TOOK THE PACKAGE AWAY! I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS!"

Hiccup could only vent at his friend. This was seriously not his day.

"CT: You know... i cant believe how skeptical you are about a lot of things when you have dragons living on your backyard"

Hiccup rolled his eyes to no one in particular. He was not in the mood to have this discussion AGAIN.

"TG: There is nothing to be skeptical about, Hiro. I've told you before, dragons are simply animals. There's nothing magical or mystical about them. They're just another of nature's wonders."

"CT: Yeah right of course theres NOTHING magical or mystical about a giant flying fire breathing lizard that can teleport. Thats totally normal and in no way paranormal whatsoever"

Hiccup sighed with exasperation.

"TG: Look, I don't have time for this right now! As much as I would like to educate you about dragons, I have to get that package back!"

"CT: Yeah i guess... good luck with that hiccup. youre gonna need it."

"TG: Ugh, don't remind me..."

Another thing Berk had that was completely unique compared to other villages was the fact that they coexisted with dragons. Sometimes, they even befriended them. And the dragon that had looted Hiccup's mailbox was an unique dragon he had nicknamed Toothless.

Now, Toothless was usually a very well-behaved dragon... Though that went out of the window whenever he found something new or interesting. Whenever that happened, the black dragon had the annoying tendency of play hide-and-seek with it... or more accurately put... "teleport-hide-and-seek".

Hiccup loved his friend but this was certainly one of his most annoying habits.

"CT: Well, ill leave you to that. I myself have to get in contact with our other friends and hope that they have gotten their copies as well. Jack and merida are going to take a while and im not looking forward to that either..."

"TG: Seems like both of us have our own share of problems then. Well, good luck, Hiro. We're going to need it indeed."

"CT: Yup. See ya hiccup. Have a nice hunt!"

\- combativeTechnologist [CT] stopped pestering tinyGlaurung [TG} at 8: 25 AM-

With a sigh, Hiccup pocketed his smartphone and took a deep breath. Not only he had to evade his parents, now he had to chase an elusive dragon as well. Steeling himself, the brunette opened the door of his bedroom and cautiously looked down the empty hallway, in search of any signal of his parents.

"Why do I feel like today is going to be a very long day?"

And after mumbling that to himself, the little viking boy stepped out of his room with light steps.


	2. ACT 1-2: Interference

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been almost a month so I figured I left you guys hanging enough. Here's chapter 2! Hope you guys like it!

**Act 1 - The Note Isolation Plays -**

**-Chapter 2: Interference-**

* * *

Hiro leaned back on his reclining chair and put his bare feet up on his desk as he thought about the conversation he had with his friend just now.

The Japanese boy would be lying to himself if he didn't admit he was a little bit worried. Today was a very special day, for a lot of different reasons. Not only was it Hiccup's birthday, it was also the day they, as in Hiro and his friends, were going to play a very important game.

The fact that Hiccup's copy of the game had been stolen by a mythical creature was very worrisome.

Hiccup had also raised a good point. Though all of their friends had promised to play the game today, all of them actually starting to play today was an entirely different matter. Especially when you take into account those  _two._

There was also the fact that Hiro's own copies of the game had been confiscated by a very annoying older brother earlier. Thankfully, he had managed to retrieve them from his brother's room without much of a hassle. For now. Hiro dreaded the moment Tadashi would notice his heist.

In short, Hiro had a lot of irons on the fire.

Still, he would be damned if he gave up before trying or doing anything. So with a sigh, the black-haired teen sat on his chair properly and turned his attention to his computer once again.

Hiro closed the window of his web browser, Daedalus, and clicked on the Pesterchum icon, hoping to see any of his friends online.

Much to his surprise, someone he didn't expect to see was actually on. Seizing the chance, Hiro immediately sent a message to his friend before the other logged out.

-combativeTechnologist [CT] started pestering antarcticanTrickster [AT] at 8:22 AM-

"CT: I cant believe I actually managed to get a hold of you so easily!"

"AT: oh sup H. whats up"

* * *

Hiro sighed as he saw his friend reply. That means he was actually at home for a change. The black-haired teen went straight to business.

* * *

"CT: Jack, do you know what day it is today?! Its a very important day!"

"AT: oh right today is the day when the mcrib is put back on the menu of course i know what day today it is today you dingus."

"AT: its hics birthday as if i would ever forget my best friends birthday"

* * *

Hiro laughed slightly at Jack's remark. When Hiro was first introduced to Jack, he had a hard time seeing how Hiccup had befriended such an... idiot.

But as he started to know him, the Japanese boy could see the why. True, Jack was a carefree prankster loaded with almost as much sarcasm and wit as Hiccup, and though he wasn't exactly smart, he was charming and he was actually rather thoughtful despite the fact that he didn't come across as the type of person that pays attention to detail. It wasn't long before he and Jack became friends, much to the rest of Hiccup's friends' dismay.

* * *

"CT: Oh, its nice to see that you do remember SOME things... did you remember we promised to play sburb today too?"

"AT: of course i did H its just that"

"AT: do we really have to play this game i mean id rather explore the forest today than stay cooped up in front of my computer screen all day"

"AT: not that i actually can or whatever but yeah you catch my drift"

* * *

Hiro sighed.

* * *

"CT: Jack ive told you a millon times that we need to play this game"

"AT: right i do distinctly remember all your ambiguous remarks about how important it is to play this silly game"

"CT: I'm serious, Jack! Playing this game could be the most important thing you could do in your life!"

"AT: i sincerely doubt that H and also why are you so sure of this game's importance like its just a pc game chill"

"AT: haha did u catch that play on words heheh chalk up one for frost overland

* * *

There it was again. The dreaded "Why" question that always surfaced. And once again, Hiro found himself unable to answer. But it wasn't because he didn't want to; it was because it would be highly inadvisable to do so. Not only would it change the past's course of history (a severe crime in San Fransokyo), Hiro didn't actually have a legitimate explanation.

By this point, it should be obvious that Hiro Hamada was actually from the far future, a good 200 hundred years away from Hiccup's era. Not like it was the best guarded secret or anything. Really, it wasn't a mystery that needed to be solved.

The Japanese teen simply  _knew_ these things. If there was one way that he could describe it... it would be... "I dreamed about it". Hiro didn't know how or why or when this started but every time he went to sleep, he would awake from a dream that had premonitions of the future. At first, the boy dismissed the idea. Because really, there was no such thing as prophetic dreams and as a man of science, it was a ridiculously folly to even entertain the notion.

As the things in his dreams came to pass, however, Hiro had to start believing.

To this day, the Hamada boy had no explanation behind the prophetic dreams, but the fact that most of his dreams contained prophecies related to Sburb... Hiro came to the conclusion that it had to do with the game.

Nevertheless, Hiro wasn't sure. And he couldn't tell either way, lest he invoked the wrath of the Mirai Kikan on him for messing with the timeline even more. So he had to find roundabout ways to tell his friends about stuff.

And now he had to convince Jack to play the game without revealing  _too much._

Hiro groaned. Washed up at 15... it almost felt like his life was over.

An idea formed on the raven-haired kid's mind as he eyed something out of the corner of his eye. Sitting right in the middle of his rather messy work desk was an orange package. Hiro smiled when he saw it. This package was a gift he had bought for Hiccup's birthday. Normally, he would've have mailed it to him, but given the circumstances (what with Hiro living over 2 centuries away from his friend's time) he kinda figured it was impossible. But recently he had come to learn he wouldn't have to mail it or anything. He came to learn that he was going to give this gift to Hiccup personally.

Because of Sburb.

With a sly smile, Hiro stood up straight and began typing away. Maybe he could tempt Jack with this? The timing of the dream that told him about this possibility couldn't have been better. It almost seemed like that dream had come to him specifically for this very moment... But nah, that can't be it. Besides, Hiro was beyond ecstatic to give that train of thought the attention it deserved.

* * *

"CT: Its not just a game jack! Its going to be very important! I mean...! This game will allow us to meet each other!"

"AT: what like in person"

"CT: Yeah! If we play this game we'll be able to meet each other in person!"

"AT: ok now I know youre full of it H like cmon get real this is just a dumb pc game"

"CT: Just take my statement as more of my 'vague premonition bullshit' ;)"

"AT: oh god damn it then youre serious arent you"

"CT: Thats what I've been telling you! So you better go and get that copy right now ok?!"

"AT: alright fine fine ill get it chill H dont worry"

* * *

Hiro happily spun on his chair as he read that last message. Yes! Getting through Jack was always an ordeal and not only he had gone and actually contacted him, but now he had convinced the stubborn teen to actually play the game! Now all he had to do was check on his other friends, install his own copy of the game and then, he'll finally be able to meet them all! He'll finally be able to meet Hiccup!

Everything was going according to plan.

A message notification drew his attention.

* * *

"AT: so like"

"AT: when you say were going to all meet each other then are you sayin everyone as in including hic"

Hiro tilted his head as he read the message. Why would he even ask this? You'd think the phrase, "meet everyone" encompassed Hiccup.

* * *

"CT: Yeah! Thats right Jack!"

"AT: oh crud then i guess i better look for an actual birthday gift for hic"

"AT: in any case i gotta jet to the gamestore, hopefully there'll be some copies still there"

"CT: Sure! Good luck Jack!"

"AT: later nerd"

-combativeTechnologist [CT] stopped pestering antarcticanTrickster [AT] at 8:32 AM-

* * *

Huh. Now that was a weird shift in Jack's attitude, Hiro thought. But then again, Jack was always attentive of Hiccup, Hiro had noticed. Despite their clashing personalities, they actually were rather good friends, to everyone's surprise. " _I guess it isn't that weird then, for him to act like that."_ , Hiro thought.

" _In any case..."_ , thought the raven-haired teen as he walked over to his work desk and dug through all the trash on it until he eventually found what he was looking for. Inside a brown envelope was the Sburb Beta. Still proud of how well his excursion to his brother's room went, the Japanese teen walked briskly to his computer and let himself fall on his reclining chair.

 _"I figure this thing will take a lot of time to install, so might as well get a head start"_. Hiro went to place the CD on a CD reader he had personally built on his desk when the door of his room opened with a slam. Turning around to see who had intruded in his, Hiro groaned as he saw his older brother, Tadashi, looking angrily both at him and the disc in hand.

"The gig is up, you knucklehead."

In that moment, Hiro cursed himself for leaving his door unlocked.

* * *

Jackson Overland was in quite a dilemma.

Though he had claimed to know that today was Hiccup's birthday, he had forgotten entirely about sending his gift to the brunette. He had also forgotten to buy the game he had promised he would play with his friends. Jack groaned as he set his laptop next him and buried his head on one of his bed's pillows.

The unmailed gift, enclosed in a blue package, laid on his desk, and Jack once again felt guilty for forgetting. He was looking forward to this day ever since he met the brunette a year ago, and he went and blew it! Sometimes, Jack really thought that his friends' description of him being an airhead were spot-on.

With a huff, Jack got up from his bed and walked towards the package. With a pout, he picked up the blue box. "Guess the only thing I can do is hope that Hiro is right about that game."

Jack had known the Japanese teen long enough to take his premonitions to heart; even if Hiccup and the others were reluctant to believe in them, Jack knew better. In this world, there were somethings that couldn't be explained by science. So all Jack could do was believe that this "Sburb" would let him meet his friend. Hell, that would be the best thing ever! At last, Jack would be able to meet his best friends!

Though he was quite a popular guy in Burgess, what with his carefree attitude, love for attention and his infamous pranking skills, most of the people who hung around him didn't know the real Jack. The Jack that'd rather play with his sister than to try to pick up chicks. The Jack that'd rather craft things like flower crowns and bracelets than skip class. The real Jack that his internet friends knew. Being able to meet them... would be a dream come true.

There was... however... a problem with that.

With a sigh, Jack put the gift down, and looked at his room's door. Yep... those boards were still nailed on pretty damn tight. And even if he somehow managed to remove the boards, Jack was a hundred percent sure a 10-ton safe was blocking the door on the other side.

"Guess I have to find a way out of here if I want to buy that game..."

Jack's reputation for pranks wasn't a very well guarded secret. Pretty much anyone on Burgess knew. And since Burgess was a fairly small city, Jack's exploits eventually reached Nicholas St. North, his legal guardian.

North was usually a jolly man, but he was pretty strict whenever Jack's pranks went too far. And this time... Jack's prank had crossed that line. In his defense, those school bullies totally deserved to look like chickens, but North never saw the genius behind his pranks. And thus, the whitette found himself under house arrest, likely for the rest of the day.

This time around, though, North had been far more stricter. Usually, he only resorted to the safe, but he had never boarded up the door before. For some reason, the Russian guardian wanted him to stay inside all day. Fat chance that was going to happen though, this bird's gotta fly. Jack looked outside his window and briefly considered the dangers of going out this way before deciding it was his only option.

A buzzing in his jeans, however, stops him from climbing out. Today seems like everyone wants a piece of Overland. Taking out his smartphone, Jack opens up the Pesterchum application, the expected message notification flashing on the screen. With a quick touch, the message is displayed.

* * *

-glowingGal [GG] started pestering antarcticanTrickster [AT] at 8:37 AM-

GG: Hey Jackie!

AT: hey sup punzie

* * *

Jack smiled as he read the enthusiastic greeting. Typical Rapunzel behavior, but that's what he liked about her. Her enthusiasm was contagious and she definitely was the mood maker of the group, always with a cheery disposition.

* * *

GG: Today's the day, huh! The day we all get to play that awesome game Hiro-chan told us about?

* * *

Jack snickered at Punzie's nickname for Hiro. If anyone had a knack for nicknames aside from him, it was Rapunzel.

* * *

AT: yeah so i hear though i still dont have the game myself

GG: What? D: Really?! How come?!

AT: north is being difficult again

GG: More like someone got himself in trouble again :b

AT: haha well you know me too well punzie

GG: That's a bummer, though! :/

GG: Are you going to be able to get a copy today?

AT: yeah dont worry punzie ill figure something out never mind me tho. what about you are you all set

* * *

Jack remembered Rapunzel's situation... and it was unique to say the least.

* * *

GG: Oh! Yeah, don't worry about me! Flynn will totally get my copy before Mother gets here :o

AT: ok thats cool just be sure that gothel doesnt catch you i mean its a miracle she even agreed to let you have a computer in the first place

GG: Ugh, don't remind me! :/

GG: I really don't want to resort to using Flynn's phone to talk to you guys ever again. That's why I'm being super extra careful with this!

AT: parents am i right. why are they such sticks in the mud smh

* * *

Jack had known the blonde girl long enough to understand how strict her mother was. Gothel was apparently super protective of the blonde, and she didn't trust just any person. Which is why Rapunzel had to talk to all of them behind her back. How Rapunzel managed to convince Gothel to get her a computer was beyond Jack's understanding.

* * *

GG: Yeah, I hear you. I love Mother but she's just so difficult sometimes :/

GG: Anyways, Jackie, I have to leave you! Good luck getting that game! :D

AT: yeah sure thanks punzie. catch ya later

\- glowingGal [GG] stopped pestering antarcticTrickster [AT] at 8: 41 AM -

* * *

Jack smiled. Chats with Rapunzel always lifted his spirits. And he needed all the motivation he could get. Because, really, breaking out of house arrest just to get a game? Sure, Jack had done a lot of things that could be called 'stupid' in his life, but he was going against North's wishes here. If he didn't get back here before his guardian came to check on him, he was sure to get in bigger trouble.

With a swift motion, Jack opened the window, the sweltering heat from the city outside creeping into his room. Today was a very bad day to wear his favorite blue hoodie, but the whitette had wasted enough time; every second was precious. Nimbly jumping through the window, Jack landed softly on the balcony outside his room. Giving his room a last glance, the whitette then jumped to a branch of a tree near his window and then slid down towards the ground. Not sparing any second, Jack then kicked off with a sprint, trying to get away from his house as fast as he could; he didn't want to get caught on his backyard.

With the sun beating on his back, Jack set off towards downtown Burgess, where the only game store in the city was.  _"Hopefully, they'll still have a copy. I don't want to make the trip for nothing."_

* * *

There was something to be said about the fact that Hiccup had to sneak around his own house in order to avoid his parents. Well, mostly one of them. Hiccup had no issues with his mom, Valka, as she was actually quite nice to him, always praising him, actually paying attention to the things he talked about, and encouraging him to pursue his interests. In all honestly, Hiccup though his mom was quite the perfect mom, aside from just one tiny detail: she could be quite...  _doting_. Specially during the boy's birthdays. Gods, the amount of cake that woman could bake... The Haddock household's kitchen was literally baking up a storm during those days. Hiccup often wondered how he was still a fishbone considering the downright obscene amounts of cake he ended up eating. Which is why the brunette had to avoid his mom today. Thor knows how much time would be used up if Valka caught him before he got the game; he would probably have to eat cake until the Gronckles came home.

Nevertheless, as the Viking tip toed outside of his room into the dark halls of the Haddock household's second floor, he cursed the layout of his home. His room was at the very end of the hallway and there really wasn't any place to hide if someone decided to come up and check on him. There was also the fact that there were only two ways to leave the house; either through the back door that was on the kitchen (That one was definitely out), or the front door, which meant Hiccup had to take down the stairs and go through the living room, where his Dad usually lounged after a hard day's work. That... was the one thing he didn't want to deal with. Who knows what would happen if Stoick caught a glimpse of him?

 _"Probably more forced father-and-son bonding and some more bruises after his umpteenth attempt to teach me how to play football..."_ , though Hiccup bitterly.

Still, he had to bite the figurative bullet. If he wanted to end his birthday on a high note, recovering that game was essential. And so, with a kind-of-resolute resolve, the little Viking approached the flight of stairs and descended as quietly as possible, keeping an eye out for his father's humongous frame through the stairs' rails, which offered an eagle's view of the Haddock living room, which had a lot of Viking decorations like Viking helmets nailed to the walls, shields and axes on display, figurines which represented Norse deities on the chimney's shelf and a rug under the couches from an unknown animal that always gave Hiccup chills. Oh, how he hated the thing, but apparently it was a trophy from a hunting trip his father went to in his younger days. He felt bad for the animal, in more ways than one.

Luckily for the Viking, he saw no sign of his father as he reached the living room. No sound but the fire's cracking in the chimney could be heard. It was quiet. Too  _quiet_. Almost abnormally s-

"Where are you headed, young man?"

"Odin's Ghost!"

The sudden voice of Valka coming from behind Hiccup made the little Viking yelp with surprise. Internally Hiccup was admonishing himself. How could he have not noticed that there wasn't any sound coming from the kitchen? Gods, how he hated his mom's ability to somehow sneak behind him without making a sound! Hiccup swore that his cause of death was going to be probably a jumpscare from his mom. Regardless, the little Viking could never stay mad with his mom. Not when she laughed so delicately, not in a mean way, but in a manner that showed she liked to see her son's reactions. Even though Hiccup was embarrassed by how easily he was frightened, Valka's laughter was kinda contagious.

"Haha, OK, yeah, you got me good Mom...!", he said as he pointed a finger at her and waved it around. "You always seem to get a... kick, from, uh... scaring your son half to death!"

Valka's laugh diminished until only a content smile was left as she saw his son's response. She always liked his son's sharp wit and mannerisms, and she couldn't understand how her little boy didn't have any friends. She didn't mind spending his birthdays with him and she was certainly happy to learn that her boy had found trustworthy friends on the internet, but...

Well, that wasn't neither here or there. Her son was up to something, and he was obviously trying to sidestep the question. Though Valka could venture a guess, given how Hiccup was eyeing the front door constantly as he fidgeted...

Valka smiled warmly.

"You know, Hiccup... if you're going out, you should at least take something to defend yourself." she chuckled as she saw the stupefied expression her son's face. "You know how dangerous it is outside, what with the dragons roaming around today. They're especially restless today for some reason."

"Oh... uh." Hiccup was at a loss for words. He wasn't expecting his mom to see through him so easily. Still, though it pained Hiccup to admit so, she was right. Toothless was friendly to him, but other dragons? A completely different story. Monstrous Nightmares were an absolute... err, nightmare to deal with, so Hiccup heeded his mother's advice.

Walking over to the weapons displayed on a shelf, the little Viking picked up a shield with the family crest on it, a red skull popping out against the dark wood of the shield. Hiccup didn't actually like to hurt dragons; his friendship with Toothless made him like that. And well, he only really needed to defend himself, not harm any dragon... so what better option than a shield.

Valka smiled approvingly at his son's choice. Hiccup quickly hung the shield on his back using the leather strap attached to the back of the shield and proceeded to walk towards the front door, giving his mom a quick hug.

"Oh, hold on a moment, Hiccup.", said Valka as Hiccup swung the door open. As the little Viking turned back to see what his mom wanted, something was put on his face. Hiccup groaned. Glasses. The brunette actually needed glasses but he didn't like to wear them; they made them look  _more_ like a nerd. Hiccup didn't object to them, though, as he saw his mom's stern face.

Stubbornness issues notwithstanding, he wasn't going to win any arguments with his mom. That was a thing that never happened. So with a resigned sigh, Hiccup adjusted his glasses and then proceeded to walk out the door.

"Don't stay out so late! Try to get home before dinner is ready!"

"Will do, Mom!"

Hiccup couldn't make any promises, though. Considering how sneaky Toothless was, this chase could take all day. It didn't help that the Night Fury had an uncanny ability to warp space and teleport around; an unheard ability on other Night Furies. But that was just another quirk that made Toothless so special, and to Hiccup it was the norm. He had grown up with the black dragon's peculiarities, after all.

_"Well, no use putting it off anymore."_

And with that thought, Hiccup set off towards his backyard, where dense woods sprawled just shy of the residential area of Berk. That was Toothless' preferred hiding spot. With that being his only lead, the little Viking set off towards the forest, an unnatural heat beating on his back as the sun shone with a powerful presence, something rare for the ever-wintry town of Berk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woooo character introductionsssss... love 'em! Sometimes I wish my stories didn't have slow starts but thats how the cookie crumbles. This fic is still a side fic so it probably won't see many updates yet but they will not be as sparse! Hopefully! Please bear with me!


	3. ACT 1-2: Countdown

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promised another update sooner, and so here we are. This one is better, in my opinion, but I'll let you guy be the judge!
> 
> Enjoy!

**Act 1: The Note Isolation Plays**

**Chapter 3: Countdown**

* * *

**\- 8:00 AM -**

* * *

Rapunzel couldn't wait any more. Today was going to be a great day. Far more eventful than the days where she read a book, or the days where she painted on the walls of her room... which was every day, now that she thought about it. Not like there was much to do, in any case. But today...! Today was different!

Rapunzel pulled away from her computer and walked towards the window, carefully tiptoeing around the miles of blonde hair thrown around the floor and, well, everywhere. The blonde girl was so excited for today's adventure that she had completely forgotten about taking care of her golden locks.

A chastising chirp on her shoulders made Rapunzel stop before getting to the window. A disgruntled looking chameleon suddenly materialized and the blonde girl only smiled back cheerfully.

"Morning, Pascal!"

Rapunzel was very fond of her reptile friend. Having the tiny chameleon around certainly made her days more lively, as it gave her someone to talk to during the times her Mother was away. Which... was a lot of times. But Rapunzel didn't mind; she understood that her Mother needed to venture outside in order to procure the things Rapunzel needed to survive. She always admired her mom; Rapunzel couldn't understand how Gothel did all the things she did for her sake. After all, the world outside Rapunzel's room was fraught with danger, which is why she wasn't allowed to leave.

...

And yet...

Even though the world outside was positively dangerous, it intrigued the blonde girl. Through her window, Rapunzel could only get a glimpse of the outside, but what she had seen was, in a few words; beautiful. Peaceful looking blue skies, fluffy white clouds, soft-looking green grass... a veritable palette of things she had never experienced for herself. The books she had read also told the blonde girl of incredible things, such as towns "full of people", magical creatures, countless species of animals and a variety of vehicles she didn't understand.

Yes, the world was without a doubt dangerous, but also full of unknown wonders. She had always wanted to explore it, and to think that today, she might be able to do so and also meet all her friends...!

...Maybe... just maybe... she would even be able to visit the golden kingdom she kept seeing in her dreams?!

A grumbling Pascal did his very best to tell Rapunzel to pick up her hair, but it was no use. The blonde girl was already fantasizing about the prospects of today's misadventures and wasn't paying any attention to him at all. He might as well be invisible... er, well, more invisible than usual.

Rapunzel's computer (an old desktop model) made a noise all too familiar to the blonde, and with a smile, she skipped over to the machine. Her desktop wallpaper, a single yellow sun (which was also emblazoned on her purple, long sleeved dress) over a solid orange background, greeted her as she slid the cursor towards the Pesterchum application, which was flashing with a new message notification. At the moment, only Hiro and Hiccup, the birthday boy, were online. She would congratulate Hiccup after she answered the message she just got. After all, this was one of her closest friends too! Man, it was hard to be this kind of popular. It seems everyone wants a piece of Corona today.

* * *

\- gallantArcher [GA] started pestering glowingGal [GG] at 8:10 AM -

* * *

GA: Hey, Rapunzel!

GA: I'm just makin' sure but uh...

GA: Today's the day right?

* * *

The blonde smiled as she read her friend's message. She was always like this; direct and to the point... and yet somewhat scatterbrained about complicated things or stuff that didn't really hold her interest. But she couldn't fault her for that... after all, everyone had their own shortcomings!

* * *

GG: Yeah! Today is the day we get to play that game Hiro-chan was talking about :D

GA: Oh phew! Glad to see I didn' miss it or else I wouldn't have 'eard the end of it from that lad

GG: Oh, relax, Mer! I'm sure Hiro-chan wouldn't harp too much on you :b

GA: Gee that's a relief. Not.

* * *

Rapunzel giggled. Merida's blunt demeanor was infamous in her group of friends. She didn't mean any harm at all; the girl, which was from Scottish descent, was just raised like that. In fact, her background probably explained almost all of her quirks, down to the accent that even seemed to seep into her typing pattern. And though Rapunzel was relieved to hear that Merida had some interest in the game, it definitely seemed out of place... a bit.

* * *

GG: Haha! Still, I'm surprised to see you're actually going to play with us, Mer :o

GG: I didn't see you as a gaming person!

GA: What can I say

GA: I'd rather play this darn computer game than endure another of Mom's lessons on how to be a proper lady

GA: Still hafta avoid 'er though...

* * *

Ah, that made more sense. Merida had always been very vocal about her conflicts with her mother. Apparently, Merida's mom, Elinor, was very keen on grooming the red head into a proper lady reminiscent of Scottish princesses of yore. Which of course didn't go down well with Merida, as it was obvious to anyone who knew the redhead. Though her other friends had put it far more rudely, Rapunzel had to agree with them: Merida was definitely not a 'proper lady'. She was much to blunt, she preferred rough sports and the outdoors than to stay inside looking stiff in a dress and faking emotions and, according to Merida's stories, she'd rather wrestle a bear than marry a prince.

It actually was a miracle to see the redhead connected, since she spent so much time either outdoors or avoiding her mother or both. But this only went to show that Merida was committed to play this game with her friends. That was one of the red head's better qualities, her loyalty.

* * *

GA: 'sides... Hiro told us this game has classes and combat and rubbish like that right?

GA: Figures at least there will be some kind of archer class so might as well

* * *

Pascal almost fell from the blonde's shoulder as she let out a snort.

* * *

GG: I kinda figured that had piqued your interest :b

GA: Oh, don't give me that tone, Rapunzel.

GG: Ok ok I'll stop teasing :b

GA: You're not gonna stop doin' it are you

GG: Heehee, maaaybe :b

GA: Grrr... fine!

GA: In any case, I can't play yet.

* * *

Rapunzel tilted her head in confusion as she read the message. Does this mean she have the game? But then why?

* * *

GG: Oh? :?

GG: How come? :o

GA: Well... Mah Dad got it for me earlier and I have it with me righ' now but...

GA: Mother won't let me play it unless I finish one of her ridiculous lessons first so yeah

GA: I'll have to play later

* * *

Well, wasn't that kind of a bummer! Rapunzel was looking forward to start playing the game already with someone but it seemed like she had to try her luck with someone else. Well, she didn't exactly have the game herself yet... so the blonde was kind of getting ahead of herself.

* * *

GG: Aww... oh well, then when you're free, you can join our session :D

GA: Yeah sure. I just hafta survive another of Mother's boring lectures

GG: I'm sure they're not  _THAT_  bad :o

GA: You have no idea.

GA: Anyway, catch y'all later!

\- gallantArcher [GA] ceased pestering glowingGal [GG] at 8:36 AM -

* * *

Rapunzel smiled. She still couldn't really believe that she was going to meet all of them today. Hiro had let on a hint about this yesterday only to her in that not-so-subtle way of his, and that made her even more ecstatic to play today. I mean, any kind of activity where all of her friends joined was always fun, but this was... simply out of this world! She even planned for all of this to be perfect!

Earlier on the day, she asked her Mother, Gothel, for something that was hard to find in order to buy time: Pink Seashell Paint. The journey to get these usually took 2 days, but Gothel was always willing to keep the blonde content. In her room. And that was fine with the blonde. 48 hours was more than enough time to get the game and play it with her friends.

And yet...

Even though she was confident her plan was sound, Rapunzel couldn't help but to worry.

As she looked at the chat's log, she noticed she took up a lot of time talking to Merida. More than she had thought. And yet, her copy of the game wasn't here yet. It should have been here already...

Throwing a worried glance through the still empty window, Rapunzel spoke to Pascal in a hushed tone. "Do you think... he's OK?". The small reptile gave a non-committal shrug in response, which did little to assuage the blonde's worries. A sound from her computer, however, caught her attention.

It was the sound of someone logging in.

And much to the blonde's surprise, it was someone she didn't expect to see logged in today! Man, the stars were aligning today in Rapunzel's favor, she thought. Today is going to be a fantastic day.

With renewed enthusiasm, Rapunzel struck up a conversation with her other friend.

* * *

-glowingGal [GG] started pestering antarcticanTrickster [AT} at 8:37 AM-

GG: Hey Jackie!

AT: hey sup punzie

_..._

_..._

* * *

Merida Dunbronch wasn't a very happy gal right now. She fiddled with her green satin dress with a sword logo stamped in the chest, which left her stiff as a stick, as she glared at the pacing figure of her mother, Elinor, who was no doubt going into another tirade about proper table etiquette.

Honestly, Merida didn't know why her mum even cared. Merida's dad, Fergus, and Merida's brothers, Harris, Hubert and Hamish, certainly didn't follow table etiquette when it was time to eat unless Elinor was there, so the redhead didn't see the point about this lesson.

Oh, how she yearned for being outside right now galloping on Angus, her horse, instead of being stuck here listening to a lesson she was tuning out out of habit. Heck, she'd rather be playing that stupid Sburb game all her friends were talking about.

A loud clap woke up Merida from her musings. A stern-looking Elinor was looking disapprovingly at the redhead, having caught her in the middle of her daydreaming. With a sigh, the brown-haired woman resumed her pacing, her long, emerald green dress draping along the floor.

"Now, Merida...", she began, and Merida prepared herself for another scolding. "I know you're not fond of... all this but you know that it is your duty as the future Lord-er... Owner of your Father's lands." Merida rolled her eyes as she heard the familiar sounding spiel. " _Here we go again..."_

"But please, at least try to stay focused on what I am saying.", said Elinor as she turned away. "This lesson won't last long, after all."

Now this actually intrigued the Scottish girl. Her mother's lessons were NEVER cut short unless something important had happened. Huffing a little as she tried to speak, Merida opened her mouth: "Huh? Why? Mum, what happened?"

Elinor turned to face her daughter and her face, sharp and refined, only showed a slight hint of exasperation as she talked. "Well, as I have already told you before... Today we're having a meteor shower later on the day, and there's a high risk some of them will fall on our fair lands. So we need to prepare for them."

Merida rolled her eyes. Why did her mum insist on the medieval talk?! Honestly, it was the 21st century! Sure, Merida was proud of her heritage but keeping the whole Lords and Lieges facade gets grating after 15 years... especially if you're a girl, since girls were only allowed to stay at home and be pretty. A thing Merida hated. Still, Merida had to thank the gods for that meteor shower; it saved her butt from a boring lecture.

"Now, where did we left off...?"

Merida groaned as she was reminded that her suffering wasn't yet over.

* * *

A noise outside Rapunzel's window made her get up from her seat. She had just finished talking with a friend, Jackson, and was just about to wish Hiccup a happy birthday... but that could wait! That noise... it could only mean...

"Hey... Rapunzel!"

With a laugh, Rapunzel walked over to the window and gazed down. There, on the bottom... way on the bottom, standing on the grassy meadow surrounding Rapunzel's home, a tall tower, was her friend Eugene... or Flynn, as he preferred, smiling at the blonde with a confident expression as he waved around a single envelope in his right hand. The blonde waved back enthusiastically. This was it...!

It was to no one's surprise that Rapunzel lived in a tower. Really, you were probably wondering when would the author reveal such an useless detail.

Flynn lowered the envelope and brought up his other hand to his mouth, before speaking:

"Oh, Rapunzel, Rapunzel... Please, let down your h-"

The brunette's dramatic speech was interrupted by a hit from Rapunzel's falling braid. Flynn merely picked up the blonde bundle of hair and looked up at the girl who was laughing at him with slight irritation.

"Honestly, Eugene, do you really have to do that EVERY time you come to visit me?", she asked as she started to pull up her hair, already used to the act since Gothel used her hair in the same way as the brunette. Flynn quickly grabbed a hold of the braid and was raised from the grass in a constant rhythm, higher and higher, and closer and closer to the grunting blonde.

"Well", said Flynn as he neared the window where Rapunzel was, "I have to make my entrance in a gallant way, don't I?". A grin appeared on the brunette's face and Rapunzel almost let go of her hair as her heart skipped a beat. Thankfully, Flynn had already jumped inside her room, envelope still in hand.

Going straight to the computer, Flynn continued talking. "So, Old Gothel not home today?", he asked with a raised eyebrow. Rapunzel shook her head as she organized her braid. "Nope. Just you and me today for two days." An annoyed chirp made Rapunzel roll her eyes. "Well... you, me and Pascal."

Flynn chuckled at the little reptile who was eyeing him with distrust from the blonde's shoulder. The chameleon and him were never in good terms, and their relationship hadn't gotten any better ever since the time he almost stepped on him. But there wasn't much he could do to mend the relationship. So instead of dwelling on that, Flynn plopped down on the chair in front of the computer and took out the CD inside the envelope emblazoned with Sburb's logo, a green house.

Rapunzel walked up to stand behind Flynn as she watched the brunette work his blonde owed a lot to the goatee-sporting brunette. It was Flynn who had lent Rapunzel his own phone so she could talk with someone while she was secluded in her tower, and it was Flynn who modified Rapunzel's computer so that she could run Pesterchum and other applications like her web browser, Inti, without Gothel noticing. And now, it was Flynn who had brought this game she had been raving about for days just like he promised he would.

Rapunzel could probably kiss Flynn right now, if, well... she actually could muster the courage to do so.

"So...", said Flynn as he typed away on the keyboard, a multitude of screens popping up and closing as data was being read from the disc. "You plan on playing this game right now?"

Rapunzel nodded. "Yup. Wanna play too?", she asked eagerly. She would have to ask Hiro for permission but she was sure the Japanese boy would say yes.

Flynn shook his head. "Nah, I'd rather watch you and play. Besides, you're not going to play all day, right?", and as he asked this, he turned his face to see Rapunzel with an inquisitive look.

"No! We're still set for that stargazing trip tonight, don't worry, Flynn.", she reassured with a smile. This was her promise to the brunette in exchange for the game. Not that she minded. It was risky, sure, but she was already breaking so many rules today, so what was one more? Besides... if she was with Flynn... she felt safer.

The brunette's eyes glimmered with happiness, and he pumped his fist slightly at that answer. "Yes! OK, let me just run the installation process for this game, and then you'll be set!" And with far more giddiness than expected, Flynn clicked one of the two executable files found in the disc, named "server".

A loading screen immediately showed up, an ever-shifting Spirograph spinning in the middle of the screen as a green progress bar made its slow trek from one end of the screen to the other. Flynn reclined back with a content smile, and Rapunzel felt like dancing.

Today was her friend's birthday, she was going to meet them all, she was going to play an awesome game, she was going to go out of her room... and... she was going on a date with Flynn!

Today... was the best day ever!

* * *

_A small red streak flies through the skies outside the tower, unnoticed as it vanishes through the clouds..._

* * *

**\- 8:37 AM -**

* * *

Hiro Hamada was really wishing right now that he had locked up his door.

"The gig is up, knucklehead."

Indeed, like his big brother, Tadashi Hamada had just said, the gig was up. Hiro knew things were going too well. There was always something. And that something was almost always Tadashi.

Don't get Hiro wrong, he loved, no, adored his big brother. And how could he not? As his only father figure and most prominent parent figure aside from his Aunt Cass, Tadashi had cared for the boy, protected him, and raised him as best as a big brother could. Tadashi was also incredibly smart, and talented and strong. He was literally Hiro's, well... hero. Not that he would ever admit that.

That didn't mean Hiro didn't have some qualms with the older Japanese teen. He was a worrywart to a fault, always getting involved in trouble for being a goody-two shoes and he had the annoying tendency of meddling in Hiro's affairs.

His most recent one had been earlier in the morning, when Tadashi confiscated Hiro's Sburb copy for unclear reasons. Tadashi had been strangely vocal about his distate for Sburb, but Hiro never expected that his older brother would react this way. But there was no way Hiro was going to miss this chance. Even if his dreams hadn't told him about the game, Hiro would have undoubtedly played this game with his friends.

Which is why they were having a standoff right now, Hiro ready to load the game on his CD reader, and Tadashi slowly making his way towards the younger Japanese teen.

Hiro really didn't want this to turn into a scuffle. Despite his... well, noodle like frame, Hiro wasn't half-bad in a fight. But the Japanese teen wasn't dumb; picking a fight with Tadashi was stupid as A)He was much bigger and stronger and B)Tadashi had taught Hiro all his fighting moves. So he had to consider other options.

A sigh made Hiro stop his train of thought. Tadashi had relaxed his stance and was rubbing his face while he groaned. And still, Hiro did not let go the CD. This could be a ploy, after all. Noble as his older brother was, in a dispute between siblings everything goes.

"Hiro, please give that to me."

Oh, so he's going for the speaking tactic, Hiro thought sarcastically. He eyed the other teen with a distrusting eye, trying gauge how much of that stern look Tadashi was giving him was real or a ruse. "Why? It's mine. I just took what was mine back.", Hiro answered with a slight grin. Tadashi's brow furrowed at that response.

"Hiro, you don't know what you're dealing with.", insisted the older Japanese teen. Hiro rolled his eyes.

"Of course I know what I'm dealing with. I'm going to play Sburb, a computer game, with my friends.", answered the raven-haired kid cheekily. At that, Tadashi's normally composed demeanor cracked a bit.

"No, you don't! You should already know that Sburb is not a normal computer game!", shouted Tadashi, making Hiro actually flinch a little. "No normal computer game lets you meet people from across the globe, much less across time! You don't even know if the creators of that game are a legit game studio or not!"

...How did Tadashi know that? Was he monitoring his chat logs? He wouldn't put it past the older Japanese teen but that wasn't the point right now..

Hiro... had to consent to Tadashi's worries. Sburb's background was a mystery. It just appeared out of nowhere both in Hiro's era and Hiccup's era. And the fact that it apparently had reality warping properties was certainly odd... and yet...

A single glance to Hiccup's unmailed present cemented his choice. With a determined stare, Hiro glanced back at Tadashi. "It's... nothing I can't handle, really. Relax, Tadashi. It's going to be a simple harmless game." he finished with a smile.

Tadashi was less than pleased. "You were never this reckless before... you used to be more level-headed... before you met those random people on the internet." mumbled the older Japanese teen, a slight hint of bitterness showing.

Ouch. Hiro winced mentally. It kinda hurt, the fact that Tadashi didn't trust him... but it hurt him more to hear his friends being dissed. This... this wasn't Hicc-... his friends' fault! This was Hiro's choice. He was doing this because he  _wanted_  to meet his  _only real_ friends. And nothing that Tadashi thought or said would dissuade him.

"At least my friends believe in me.", he said in a low tone, and much to Tadashi's horror, Hiro loaded the game into the CD reader, the CD's contents being extracted as windows opened and closed on the raven-haired kid's computer screen. Hiro could only watch the screen with awe as a rush of exhilaration coursed through his body like lightning. He couldn't believe this was happening. It was starting! He was soon going to meet Hicc-... all his friends...!

"What have you done..."

Upon hearing that, Hiro turned back to see Tadashi slowly backing away, looking aghast and terror-stricken. Seeing that expression on the normally confident Tadashi made Hiro's resolution shake.

"Tadashi...?", asked the boy timidly, but the older teen was already on the door, looking outside the window near Hiro's computer frantically before he started heavily breathing. All of a sudden, he pointed a finger at Hiro while he clutched his head, his fingers pressing hard on the San Fransokyo University cap he was wearing.

"Listen... it's too late now. I-I'm... going to evacuate Aunt Cass and the others, OK?!", he said, trying to conceal the frantic tone in his voice. "You. Hiro. You stay here until I come for you, alright?!", Tadashi almost sounded pleading, the fear clear in his eyes. In the face of that, Hiro could only nod. Seeing that answer, Tadashi gulped and smiled nervously.

"Good. I'll be back. Don't worry.", he said before he turned to leave. "I'm not giving up on you, so hang in there.", and with that, Tadashi ran out of Hiro's room with a speed he hadn't seen.

Now Hiro was  _really_ worried. Had he really done something wrong? This... this was just a really cool game, right? There was nothing to worry about, right? Tadashi was just being a drama queen like always.

 _"Yeah... that has to be it.",_ Hiro told himself. And besides, he wasn't planning on moving from here. Yeah... he had a game to play after all! Tadashi was probably making a mountain out of a molehill.

Hiro hadn't planned on starting the game so soon, but it was alright. As long as he was that started the game, it would be fine. After all, he was the one that had the most knowledge about the game... kinda.

The Japanese kid's thoughts stopped as he read the status screen that appeared in screen.

* * *

_**SBURB v.01** _

**_-Server Session already in progress..._ **

**_. -Connect as client player? Y/N_ **

**_._ **

_._

_._

_Start new Server Session? Y/N_

* * *

...

...

Someone... someone had already started a new game without him.

* * *

Jack cursed the heat as he ran back to his house, copy of Sburb in hand. Why was it so goddamn hot?! The pavement was sure to cause him blisters as he felt the scorching surface of the streets through his shoes with each step. He would have discarded the hoodie he was wearing as well if... it didn't have a special meaning to him. Still, though he had promised to never take it off, the current weather was literally cooking him alive.

He seriously was ready to start to play the game without his shirt on. Meeting his friends in a non-presentable way be damned, he was seriously going to faint from heat if he didn't do anything soon.

 _"It will give them something nice to see, too. A good impression is always nice."_ , thought Jack with a snicker as he took off the blue hoodie, leaving him only with a light blue undershirt with a snowflake logo printed on the center of it. " _I bet Hic would turn beet red from embarrassment, that nerd._ "

It was honestly this thought, the thought that he was going to meet the viking nerd in person... this was his sole motivation as he ran the last mile to his house. It was going to be a challenge, to try and climb the tree with his hoodie and Sburb copy in hand, but it was going to be all worth it in the end.

And thus continued Jack's long trek home, under the unnatural heat wave that assaulted the northern city of Burgess.

* * *

_The sun shines mercilessly over Burgess, looking uncharacteristically crimson, as if it were a raging fireball..._

* * *

"Oh, the Gods must hate me."

Hiccup complained uselessly as he struggled against the ropes tied around him only managing to dirty up his favorite green shirt, with a logo of Toothless' head stamped in the center, even more as he rolled around the forest's humid ground.

The viking's hunting excursion wasn't going well.

It was actually going very well at first. The little Viking knew the places Toothless liked to frequent the most whenever the Night Fury got in the mood for playing hide-and-go-teleport-seek, so he just had to check those places until the dragon turned up. And it only took him an hour to find the elusive creature.

He found the Night Fury in the cove where they first met, drinking water peacefully with Sburb copy set next to him. This was a tricky place for Hiccup, though. The cove didn't have many places to hide, so if he wanted a chance to get that game back, Hiccup would have to strike fast and decisively.

Naturally, that plan went awfully wrong.

Hiccup's only tool was the shield he was carrying, and that wasn't going to help him in subduing a dragon, much less a dragon like Toothless. All the little Viking could do was rush towards the Night Fury and hope for the best.

Hiccup guessed he didn't hope enough.

As the little Viking neared the dragon, full charge, a green flash immediately made Hiccup prepare for the worst. Toothless had just used his space-warping powers and that was never good. Instead of colliding with the dragon, Hiccup kept running... and running... until a feeling of emptiness and floatiness surrounded him. Hiccup closed his eyes.

Just as he had feared, he had phased right into Toothless. Whenever the Night Fury flashed green, if one focused enough, one could see empty space inside the frame of the dragon. And that's precisely where Hiccup was right now. Opening his eyes right now was inadvisable; though he would see space if he did so, he would also see a blinding and burning green light as strong as the sun. He had to wear glasses after  _that_  incident and he wasn't willing to repeat it.

So all he could do was wait until Toothless decided to phase him out. Which usually didn't take long.

As in cue, Hiccup reappeared in the Haddock Household's basement, only to land in a bundle of rope. Naturally, the momentum Hiccup was carrying, well... carried over as he phased out of Toothless and he ended up in a tangled mess, rope wrapping around him and incapacitating him.

However, his woes didn't end there.

Another bright green flash told him the Night Fury wasn't done with his mischievous stunt. Teleporting right in front of the tied-up brunette, the Night Fury transported them back to the cove. With a content skip in his step, Toothless took the Sburb copy with him, taunted Hiccup with a flick of his tail, and teleported away to parts unknown, much to Hiccup's chagrin.

Which brings us to his current predicament.

"Not only did I manage to lose a game... I managed to lose a whole dragon.", said Hiccup to no one but himself. He tried the ropes again, to no avail.

"Hahah... looks like... I-I'm in a tight spot... aaaaand I'm talking to myself.", finished the brunette lamely.

Today... was not a very good day.

* * *

\- glowingGal [GG] started pestering combativeTechnologist [CT] at 9:06 AM -

* * *

GG: Hey! Hiro-chan :D

* * *

Hiro was startled by Rapunzel's sudden message. He was so focused on the Sburb startup screen he had forgotten he was doing. With a trembling hand, he typed his message away.

* * *

CT: Oh! Hey rapunzel!

GG: Hee hee... Guess what?

CT: I dunno what?

GG: I just started playing Sburb :DDDD

* * *

Hiro's mind stopped a little as he read that. He only typed the message subconsciously as he tried to make sense of what was going on.

* * *

CT: oOh reaally? that's Great!

* * *

None of this made sense. Hiro... he saw in his dreams that he was going to start the game first. He was going to be Hiccup's server player and then they were going to let the others connect one by one. That's what he saw in his dream... and yet this... was nothing like that.

* * *

GG: Um... Hiro? :o

* * *

Rapunzel's message snapped him back to reality once again.

* * *

CT: Yeah rapunzel?

GG: What is this... timer that I'm seeing on my screen right now? :?

* * *

Hiro went back to the Sburb startup screen. Indeed, just like Rapunzel had told him, there was now a timer on his screen as well, its green numbers shining brightly against the black backdrop of the screen. But...

But...

* * *

CT: I...

CT: ...I dont know.

* * *

No matter how much the Japanese teen tried to make sense of any of this, no matter how much he revisited the memory of each prophetic dream he had, Hiro could only be sure of one thing. He had never seen this timer ever.

Hiro just didn't know.

* * *

**[TIME: 8:15]**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the end of this chapter! Lots of jumping around in character perspectives, and there was even some jumps in time. I hope you didn't get lost! Because these kinds of jumps are going to be more common now!
> 
> [As a note, chronologically, Rapunzel's bit at the beginning happened before Chapter 1 and the rest of it happened after she talked with Jack]
> 
> Anyways, things will definitely start to pick up soon. Sadly, I have to focus on my main fic now, so who knowssss how much it will take for the next chapter to be posted.
> 
> In any case, reviews and comments are always nice. See ya later!


	4. ACT 1-4: Complications

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So! I'm back with a new chapter! This has a lot of Hiro. I know this is supposed to be a ROTGXHTTYD fanfic mainly but all this focus on Hiro will last only through Act 1, as I intend to use him and Rapunzel to introduce the concept of Sburb. After that, perspectives will change.
> 
> I guess I should warn you this chapter will have gendered slurs so if that bothers you, beware.
> 
> And enjoy!

**Act 1: The Note Isolation Plays**

**Chapter 4: Complications**

 

* * *

**[9: 07 AM]**

Message notifications reaching his phone made Hiccup's pocket ring in a cacophony that didn't help him concentrate as he tried to sit upright, an action that was proving difficult as he was tied up. Still, even though his phone was proving to be quite a distraction, the little Viking had an idea on his mind to get out of this predicament.

With a grunt, the freckled teen managed to right himself up, standing up with shaky steps. Trying to not trip and ruin everything, the little Viking made its way towards a rock wall with particularly sharp-looking jagged edges. Once in position, Hiccup started to rub the rope that was binding him against the sharp rock in hopes that it would liberate him. It took the auburn-haired youth some minutes of excruciating effort for the rocks to do the job, but he sighed with relief once the rope gave away.

With a sigh, the freckled teen adjusted his glasses and rolled his shoulders. What a fine mess... he was dirty with mud and now he was sore and he was game-less as he was in the morning. Of course, that was partly his fault for not coming up with a better plan... but being tied up by the cove all this time gave him a better idea.

Walking to the cove's lake shore, Hiccup sat on a stone outcropping and psyched himself up. If he couldn't get near the Night Fury himself, he would lure the Night Fury to him. He just needed the proper bait...

* * *

**[9:08 AM]**

* * *

"GG: Um, Hiro? What do I do?"

* * *

Rapunzel's message snaps Hiro from his nervous train of thought. The appearance of that timer had sent him on a mental tangent but he needed to get a hold of himself. Tadashi's actions were worrisome, but there were some pressing matters in front of him right now. He had to get this game going, even if it wasn't going like he planned. With slightly hesitating fingers, the Japanese kid types away in Sburb's start up screen and joins the game as Rapunzel's client player.

* * *

"CT: This is what we'll do rapunzel. We'll start the game just the two of us at first. You'll be the  **server**  and ill be the  **client**  while we wait for the others to connect."

"GG: Oh... OK. What's a  **server**  supposed to do?"

* * *

Right... it was time for all those dreams of his to be of use. Hiro ransacked his brain for the answer and before long-

"CT: As a  **server**  player, you have to help the  **client**  progress through the game. So whenever i am in a pinch, you help out, ok?"""

That was the best way he could explain it, with the info he had.

* * *

"GG: Wait, so only you will get the chance to play? :o"

"CT: No! I mean... that will be your role for now... we actually need to both act as both server and client at the same time if we want to proceed through this game, but i think its better if we start simple, so you can get used to the game. Once more people join, you'll be the client of someone and so on!"

Hiro didn't know if he was getting through to the blonde girl, but there was no way he could explain it in a simpler way. For now, the Japanese kid had to progress through the game, and to do so, he needed Rapunzel's help.

* * *

"GG: Ok... I'll believe you! But... are you sure you're OK? You don't look well."

At that, Hiro made a confused noise. "Look"? What an odd way of phrasing it...

"CT: I-I'm just fine, really! Why would you think otherwise?"

"GG: Hmm... It's just... you look extremely nervous and fidgety. Is everything alright?"

"CT: Rapunzel how do you even know what I'm doing?"

It made no sense to the Japanese kid. Sure, even though it pained him to admit so, he was kind of freaking out a little. His brother was acting up, and things weren't going as planned, so he naturally had started to sweat a bit, but how did his friend know that? The next IM thankfully shed some light into this question.

* * *

"GG: Oh! That! Riiight... Ever since you connected to my session, my start-up screen changed and now I cankindaseeintoyourroomandseeyou :X"

...

"CT: Oh."

It was all Hiro could answer. He shouldn't have been surprised. After all, if this game was supposed to help them meet each other in person, and the other person was going to help him progress in the game, then Hiro guessed it was possible for the game to allow another player to see their co-players rooms. Still, there was something embarrassing about the fact that a girl was seeing how messy his room was; he hadn't cleaned up in forever, considering the fact that Tadashi was equally messy and Aunt Cass didn't actually mind the mess. Still, Hiro had bigger concerns right now. He had a session to run.

"CT: N-never mind that! Really! It's normal! So, rapunzel... how about you mess around with the controls and such? To get a feel for it and the game, i mean! While you do that i'm going to think of what to do."

"GG: Sure thing Hiro-chan! Just give me a sec... "

* * *

And with that, the IM ceased to come. Hiro didn't mind Rapunzel's inquisitive nature, but he needed to concentrate for a bit. To try to make sense of the confusion addling his brain. He needed to remember all the dreams he had seen in order to figure out a game plan (heh), and for that, he needed peace and quiet-

A buzzing in his shorts made him groan. Great, who wanted to message him just now?! Was it Rapunzel?! No, she couldn't be, she was talking to him on his computer, so who could-?

Hiro gritted his teeth as he saw the username of the idiot who had decided to pester him right now. With an angry jab of his finger, Hiro brought up the chat window, already seething with anger as he read the opening line of the message.

\- terrifyingGrima [tG] started pestering combativeTechnologist [CT] at 9:15 AM-

"tG: So... today's the day you guys fuck everything up. Am I right, Zero?"

* * *

"So, what does the Hamada boy say?"

Flynn is looking over Rapunzel's shoulder with a disinterested face as the blonde messes around with the game's interface. On the screen, Flynn can see a giant green arrow sliding around according to Rapunzel's mouse movements. On the top of the screen, a tool bar with a bunch of commands ( **Move, Redesign, Deploy** ) and tabs ( **Phernalia Registry, Grist Cache**  being the only ones he can read from his position) and arrows and zoom-in/out buttons can be seen as well. Flynn was never good at videogames, so the sight of all this game terminology makes him groan mentally; how was Rapunzel capable of making sense of all of this?

"Well, he said I should play around with the game's interface so I can get used to it... so I guess I'll do just that!", answers the blonde, enthusiastically, as she clicks the "Redesign" command.

Flynn smirks. Figures she would have no idea of what she was doing too. The bearded teen honestly thought that not even Hiro had an idea of what to do, but hey, if they wanted to mess around a videogame, who was he to ruin their fun?

* * *

Hiccup sighed as the tenth fish in a row eluded his makeshift spear. Fishing without a rod was a hard and tedious task, not to mention unsavory, but this was the only way he would be able to lure Toothless to him. It worked the first time they met, so the auburn-haired kid knew it was going to work this time too.

Wiping away the sweat from his brow, the little Viking decided he needed a break. Taking out his phone, Hiccup browsed through the messages he had neglected to answer and a smile crept on his lips as he read the birthday wishes from every one of his friends. Most of them were offline now, no doubt busy with important stuff, but one of them was still online, and deciding he could strike up a conversation while he rested, he started to type away his answer.

-tinyGlaurung [TG] started pestering tenaciousTomboy [TT] at 9:15 AM-

"TG: Thanks for the birthday wishes, Anna."

"TT: Oh! Hiccup! I didn't expect you to see you online! Hahaha, hello there!"

That bubbly disposition of hers... Hiccup often wondered if Rapunzel and Anna were related in any way... but of course, that was downright impossible. Still, no one could deny the similarities between the two girls; it was often a running gag between them that Anna was Rapunzel 2.0.

"TG: Hello there, Anna. So, are you ready to play this game Hiro has been psyched about?"

"TT: I totally am! But I'm just waiting for Elsa to get her game on! She's seriously putting this thing off a lot, even though she promised to play a long time ago. Say's she busy with "adult stuff" but I think she's making up excuses!"

When Hiccup first met Anna and Elsa through Merida, he found it hard to believe that they were both royalty. Still, considering the fact that the redhead was also royalty, Hiccup came to terms with the revelation smoothly. More odd than that was the fact that Elsa was the legal guardian of Anna, seeing as both of them were orphans. And though the older sibling, Elsa, exuded royalty and grace even through her messages, Anna was most certainly the friendlier of the two. Still, they made an unique pair, and they fit quite well in the group of mishmashed personalities.

However, Elsa's responsibilites as the queen were quite real, and this was often shown in how absent she was in most of their conversations, almost always away in some Serious Royal Business. Still, Elsa was a woman of her word; the promises she made were always fulfilled and she had promised to play the game, so Hiccup had no reason to worry.

"TG: I'm trying to get my copy of the game, but Toothless is being difficult."

"TT: Oh? More of that famed "hide-and-go-seek" stuff you always talk about?"

"TG: It's "teleport-hide-and-seek", but yeah, that's what I mean. I'm currently in the forest trying to track him down, but as expected, that jerk thinks this is just a game."

"TT: Weeeeell... technically speaking, this IS a game..."

"TT: But you better hurry up, Hiccup! I'm not sure you should be outside right now..."

At that, the auburn-haired teen rose and eyebrow.

"TG: What do you mean by that?"

"TT: Didn't you see the news? Today there's going to be a worldwide meteor storm around the globe! The authorities say that Earth is going to be fine, but they advised to stay indoors just in case some of the meteors do manage to make it pass the atmosphere."

Hiccup found that extremely odd. Sure, he hadn't seen the news today, but there was no mention of any meteor storm in the news yesterday... or all week. And meteor storms don't appear out of nowhere. How could this be...?

"TG: Oh... OK, Gotcha. Don't worry, Anna. I'll be safe. As soon as I get the game back, I'll hurry back home."

"TT: Yeah, I know you'll take care of yourself. You were always a safety nut haha!"

At that, Hiccup scoffed. What, just because he was more cautious than the rest of his friends, that didn't mean he didn't take risks. Who was the one who lived with fire breathing reptiles every day? Right, this fishbone.

"TT: In any case, I'll join the game later. I'll try to hurry Elsa along so you better be there once we join in, OK? See ya later, Hiccup!"

"TG: Right, see ya Anna."

And with that, Hiccup put his phone in sleep mode. He needed to focus on getting a fish, or else he would be late. The thing about the meteor storm was worrying... but if the experts said that they would be OK... then he was going to be OK, right?

No, the moment he started to worry about what-if worst case scenarios, that was the moment he lost. Gripping the makeshit spear on his hand, Hiccup turned to face the lake, weapon at ready...

* * *

_Various red streaks tint the sky crimson for just a second before they dissipate in middair..._

* * *

Hiro was so ready to go off against the troll who had decided to bother him today of all times when intense shaking to his right made him turn around. In an instant, where once was a wall in his room now was a big, empty space. Hiro had to rub his eyes; he couldn't believe what he was seeing... his room had gotten bigger, a square, empty space that wasn't there before now, well, existing right there!

The Japanese kid instantly contacted Rapunzel, his fingers frantically typing away.

"CT: Uh... rapunzel what are you doing?"

"GG: Sorry Hiro-chan! You told me to get used to the controls so I kinda wanted to experiment with the  **"Redesign"**  command! Apparently, I can rebuild your house with this command! Or build stuff upon it. It costs something called  **'Grist'** , though. :/"

Huh. Hiro found that interesting. So Sburb really was capable of altering reality. Still, if doing so wasted in-game resources, resources he didn't know where to get as he had never heard of this "Grist" stuff, then they should be more careful with their moves. But just as Hiro was about to advice Rapunzel to not mess around too much, the Japanese kid had to duck for cover as his bed was suddenly flung over his head and right through the wall, smashing through it and landing in the street in front of his house.

"CT: Rapunzel, watch what you're doing!"

"GG: Sorry! I didn't think the mouse cursor would be that sensitive :x!"

"GG: I'll stop messing around with the stuff in your room... I'm going to check what the  **deploy**  command does now..."

"CT: Just don't break more stuff, ok?!"

\- glowingGal [GG] ceased pestering combativeTechnologist [CT] at 9:22 AM -

Hiro sighed as he recieved another message from the douchebag. He really didn't want to entertain this annoyance more than he needed to, but the raven-haired kid thought a simple 'fuck off' was warranted; he had stuff to do, after all.

-terrifyingGrima [tG] started pestering combativeTechnologist [CT] at 9:23 AM -

"tG: See? Just like I said. That stupid bitch is already wrecking your home. I can't wait until you idiots start to fuck up even more. It's going to be an amazing show and I have front row tickets for it."

"CT: Oh my god, why are you even talking to us you massive jerk. If you hate us so much why keep bothering us?! We didn't do anything to you and besides i thought i blocked you!"

It was true; this random asshole had started bothering all of them 3 months ago. Out of nowhere, tG was on their contact lists despite the fact that no one had added him, and ever since, he would message them toxic messages without miss. Even though they had blocked and erased him from their contact list, the jerk would always return and pester them some more.

"tG: God, it's just so hard to stop watching, you know? Like, how can I ever stop watching the biggest fucking trainwreck in the universe? It's simply a thing that can't be done, especially since you guys are going to massively screw the entire universe because of your stupid wishy-washy petty desires."

"CT: OK, so you're just going to be your vague bullshit and annoying self as always got it. See ya later jerk, i'm blocking you again."

"tG: Wow. Just wow. Zero, you're really oblivious to the world around you. I mean, really, you're willing to go along with this sketchy as fuck game and you aren't even aware of the damage it's doing to you? Tadashi deserved better than you, but you already knew that, didn't you?"

That comment stung. Hiro was already feeling guilty over the fact that he had made Tadashi freak out, but there was something about the way tG was saying that that caught his attention.

"CT: What are you even talking about? What kind of damage would a game do to me?"

"tG: Look outside of your window you pedantic douchebag."

Hiro reluctantly looked through the hole Rapunzel had made through his wall, and nearly dropped his phone. With shaky steps, the Japanese kid approached the hole, his eyes wide as he took the scene outside.

Fire, wreckage.

Streaks of red balls of fire quickly sailing through the skies, making impact on the outskirts of San Fransokyo, the flames surrounding the falling stars igniting the abandoned buildings and cars and streets surrounding Hiro's house at an alarming rate. Fires that would soon start to attack Hiro's own home.

"tG: Tick Tock, motherfucker. You better get your game on, Zero, or else you're going to burn to a crisp! Hahahaha!"

Panic seized the younger Hamada's heart as he backed away from the wall. Di-did he really cause all of this? All this destruction... was his fault? Was that why Tadashi was so freaked out? Where was he?! Where was Aunt Cass?! As he wondered that, an intense shaking made Hiro lose his balance and he landed on his butt unceremoniously. An IM soon followed.

\- glowingGal [GG] started pestering combativeTechnologist [CT] at 9:28 AM -

"GG: OK, I'm going to start deploying stuff around your house :o!"

"GG: There's a lot of cool-looking stuff in this  **Phernalia Registry** , but they're kind of big so I'm going to have to scatter them to fit them all in! Sorry about that!"

No sooner the words were out- err, displayed on Hiro's phone, two more mini-earthquakes followed, no doubt because of the stuff Rapunzel was deploying around the Japanese kid's house.

"GG: I don't know what most of this stuff does, but I'm sure you know what to do with them, Hiro-chan! If you need any help, just ask me!"

...Hiro shook his head. That's right... if this was all because of the game they were playing... if this was Sburb's fault... then the only thing he could do was play along. He doubted he could quit right now. So maybe, maybe this was the first "mission" in the game. If so, then there had to be a way to "win", Hiro figured. There had to be a way to escape this destruction, or avert it. And to do so, he had to concentrate. He had to crack the puzzle that this game was.

Maybe in doing so, he could even get to save Tadashi and Aunt Cass... and meet Hiccup and everyone else.

With a renewed resolution, the Japanese kid stood up, just in time to see a red card slowly float down in front of him.

* * *

With the appropriate bait in hand, Hiccup made his way out of the cove. It was an unpleasant experience to skewer a fish, but he had to do so. Hiccup had checked out all the other places Toothless liked to hide in whenever they were engaged in their silly one-sided games, but there was one place he hadn't checked out yet.

Mostly in the hopes that Toothless hadn't decided to hide there, for it was one of the most dangerous, complex and reclusive places in the whole isle of Berk.

As luck would have it, however, Hiccup found himself standing at the steps of that place. Since he had already explored the other areas and he hadn't found nary a scale of his friend, this was the only place he could be.

Stone pillars rose from the giant lake, its waters no doubt hiding the rest of the ruins that were as ancient as Berk itself. A temple, tall and foreboding, made out of gray rock stood before the little viking, its frog shaped monument perched at the very top of the structure, giving off an impressive shadow as the teen stood there in awe. He had been here a lot of times before, but it always took its breath away. And it made him wonder, why frogs? Wasn't Berk an island full of dragons? The ancients sure were weird.

Still, Toothless had to be here, so Hiccup took a deep breath and adjusted his hold on the makeshift spear before heading into the ruins, hoping to find the troublemaker dragon fast.

* * *

Hiro picked up the red card that had just materialized in front of him, and he couldn't help but to be confused at what he was looking. It was a card filled with holes in various places, a picture of a micro-bot on its surface. This perplexed Hiro. What was a micro-bot doing in Sburb? Hiro had just finished making them yesterday (an invention of his made in spare time) and there was no way Skaianet, the game company that produced Sburb, had learned about it. So... how? How was a micro-bot in this card?

And what was Hiro supposed to do with this red, punched card?

Hoping to get some clues from his server player, Hiro messaged the blonde, only to be faced with...

-glowingGal [GG] is currently offline-

That wasn't good.

 _"Now what am I supposed to do? I never saw this card in my dreams... at least, I don't think so..."_. Hiro groaned at the realization that all the bravado he had about his knowledge about the game turned out to be for naught. He was truly at a loss for what to do. Was he even able to progress without his server player...?

Hiro's phone came to life as a message was delivered to him. Opening Pesterchum, the Japanese kid grimaced as he saw that the annoyance was still hounding him.

"tG: See? You guys are already fucking up. Your bitch of a friend has left you and you have no clue what you're doing. Man, this is so rich."

"CT: What the hell is your problem man?! If you're really just interested in seeing us fail then why don't you stop bothering us and leave us alone! We don't need your snide comments you asshole!"

"tG: Ugh, but see... you guys do need my help!"

"tG: I mean, I COULD leave you alone and watch you fuck around uselessly and waste everyone's time, but I've already done that so many times and honestly? It gets boring to see you guys fuck up at this part every damn time. "

"tG: So that's why I'll help you, Zero, at this point. Hopefully I'll see you fail in more spectacular ways in the future... now that will be even more entertaining."

Hiro jumped a little as he heard a loud crash next door. Taking a peek outside the hole in his wall, Hiro panicked when he saw his neighbor's house in flames, a meteorite the size of a small car firmly lodged in the structure. He was running out of time. And he still had no idea what to do, about this situation and about this asshole and his intentions.

Trying to juggle his phone, the red card he picked up, and now Hiccup's gift (there was no way he was letting that out of his sight now, he wouldn't want it to catch fire, as some embers were already billowing inside his room), the Japanese kid sent his response with angry jabs at his phone's touch screen.

"CT: I don't understand you! And I dont need your help!"

"tG: But you're so fucking wrong, Zero. Don't you ever get tired of being wrong? I know I would."

"tG: I mean, you aren't even using your  **Sylladex**  at all. Honestly, how did you even graduate from high school at such a young age? You're such an idiot."

"CT: Instead of being a jerk, how about you explain what a Sylladex is? Wow, that would be awesome!"

Hiro could almost visualize the other's eye roll as the answer to his message came.

"tG: OK. Time to get serious. A Sylladex is simply game bullshit mumbo terminology. A game construct of sorts. Ever heard of an inventory? That's what Sburb calls it.

"tG: You basically can now carry stuff with you without necessary holding it. I don't know how it works nor I care; it just fucking does."

"tG: You store stuff by captchaloguing them. The objects you store will be put in cards. You can then call them back to you by simply thinking about them and you do the same to store stuff."

At that, Hiro interrupted.

"CT: Wait, cards? You mean like this one I have? So can I get a microbot out of this pre-punched card? Why does this card even have holes? Do all cards have them?"

"tG: God, don't interrupt me. That card is special and its different from the others so no, you can't get what's inside it. Yet. You can still captchalogue it so it doesn't bother you though."

"CT: Storing a card inside a card? Thats kinda dumb."

"tG: I know."

For some reason, Hiro found that kinda funny. Still, it was a weird concept, thinking about it... but he had no reason to not believe tG. So thought he found it odd, the Japanese kid started to think about this abstract concept.

And then, as if it was natural to him to do so, a clear image appeared in his mind. A folder of sorts was displayed in front of him, and by simply willing it, all the objects he was carrying were assorted into cards and stored inside his Sylladex. It felt weird and it was like magic, seeing the red card and Hiccup's present being transformed into cards.

It really felt like a game.

However, the Japanese kid noticed something weird about this mental folder of his. On the corner of it, Hiro could see a flip-over button. With a little mental effort, the button was pushed and the folder flipped over, the new side of it reading " **Strife Deck**."

Hiro found it rather surprising how fast he was getting used to this.

"CT: Whats a Strife Deck?"

tG's answer came fast, as if he were expecting it.

"tG: You know how in games all characters have their own weapon they're good at and shit? That's what basically a Strife Deck is.

"tG: In Sburb, weapons are called somethingKind and your Strife Deck is used to manage the weapons you can use."

Hiro hummed at that. He wasn't actually proficient with any kind of weaponry, but Tadashi had taught him some moves...

Before he even knew it, a card had appeared in his Strife Deck out of nowhere, as if it had read its thoughts. It read  **fistKind**. Hiro supposed that it had to with the fact that he was at least good enough with his karate moves. Never in his dreams did he think he would end up being the Monk/Fighter character.

"tG: In any case, you should probably get your ass into gear."

tG's message snapped Hiro from his musings.

"tG: I mean, you're in danger of going up in smoke, so I'd get all the stuff you think is important real fast and then you need to find all the things your bitch of a friend deployed. They're important."

Hiro gritted his teeth at that. He hated how this jerk was always badmouthing his friends, especially Rapunzel since she didn't ever harm anyone, but he had to tolerate this. tG, sadly, knew what he was talking about.

"CT: I dont need you to tell me that. I can do it myself."

"tG: Yeah right, Zero. You don't know shit."

That only made the Japanese kid wonder about the nature of tG more, though. Who was this person? Why did they continue to haunt them? Why did they talk about Hiro and his friends in such a vague, almost-all-knowing way? And how did they know so much about Sburb? Was he also a prophetic dreamer? The questions were endless, but Hiro supposed he wasn't getting any answers to that. Time was of the essence.

Quickening up his pace, Hiro rushed out of his now-in-shambles room and ventured towards Tadashi's room in search of the objects Rapunzel had placed.

He hoped that Tadashi and Rapunzel were OK...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So! New characters, and more trudging along the story!
> 
> And more jumping around the points of view! I hope you didn't get lost in all of that and the exposition. I really have to get these concepts out of the way early so that they don't clog the story up later, but if you think I'm being too much, just tell me in a review, along with any comments and criticisms!
> 
> See ya in the next chapter.


	5. ACT 1-5: Complications

**Act 1: The Note Isolation Plays**

**Chapter 5: Enter**

Hiccup had a sort of grudging respect for the ancient frog ruins. He had to commend whoever built this thing, for it was huge and it surely took a lot of grueling effort to make it. Hiccup was half-convinced this ruin was built by some sort of super-viking ancestors; only someone as stubborn as them would put this much dedication. Still, the auburn-haired teen had to accept that probably wasn't the case. This ruin was far more older than Berk; studies from archaeological experts say it has been on the island before humans even evolved to the point they were able of such archaeological feats, which always struck Hiccup as odd and nonsensical.

There was also the fact that if Berkians had indeed been the ones that had built this ruin, it would surely have been made in the likeness of dragons, not a frog of all things. The critters weren't even reptilians nor close to dragons in any way! As such, the Frog Ruins remained a mystifying mystery, one too deep or perhaps not worth the time of any of the locals sans Hiccup.

Still, though he had been fascinated by the structure, Hiccup also hated it. Climbing up all these stairs was downright freckled teen was sure that was the reason behind Toothless' choice of it as a hiding place.

"Next time I see him... I-I'm going to give him a smaller basket of fish...!", panted Hiccup as he, at last, reached the doorway of the Frog Temple. Looking over the edge of the platform he was standing on, Hiccup could see almost all of Berk, and even some the island's edge. He also could make the rough edges of the crater the Frog Ruins were sitting on. Hiccup always thought it was a rather odd place to build a ruin in, but who was he to criticize the ancients?

In any case, he had no time to wonder about the fundamentals and motives of a civilization long gone. He had more pressing matters in the present, and as such, he walked right into the dark interior of the amphibian-depicting temple.

* * *

_**Years in the Past...** _

_**Like, millions of years backwards.** _

* * *

_An island we are all acquainted with lies in the middle of the ocean, ages before humans and/or vikings gave it a name and called it home._

_From the atmosphere, a rip in space opens up. A spirograph whimsically shifts in shape before ejecting a large meteor. It's impact zone that same island that will once house a talking fishbone millions of years into the future._

_Embedding itself on a wooded part of the island, the meteor strikes, the only proof of its fleeting existence being the creation of a crater, and a pool of molten rock in the middle of it. From the fiery lake, a familiar shape rises, flashing in remarkably distinct flashes of green. Soon after the emergence of that dragon follows another figure._

_It's rise is followed by forceful shaking. Soon enough, standing majestically in the midst of that crater is a monument, a temple. A ruin. Like a frog squatting in its own pond, a mysterious ruin has established, its origin or its purpose unknown but unquestioned._

_A dragon without name and apparently without teeth. It's origins, also explained and at the same time, not quite. But his purpose, it knows. He will wait patiently for the arrival of the one he's destined to protect and guide. Be it a millenia or two, he will wait for the Heir._

* * *

_**Fast-forward to the present...** _

* * *

_A soon to be Heir stares at the weird contraption in front of him. Sitting atop a large pedestal lies a flower bud, yet to bloom. On the pedestal's side, a timer can be seen. 8 hours and 15 minutes are counting down._

* * *

Hiccup had always wondered what this thing was, and what it was counting down to, but no matter how much he had tried to pry open the flower, he had been unable to even budge it. It was a sore subject; the fact that he couldn't even beat a flower, but there wasn't much the little viking could do about it. Even though he wanted to know what the timer was counting down to, he had a Night Fury to chase down.

There wasn't much to the ruins, despite it's huge size. The flower pedestal was the most striking feature in the single room that comprised the ruins. On the walls there were some runes and drawings of frogs, though Hiccup couldn't exactly read any of them; they were in a language foreign to him.

In the middle of the ruins was a circular engraving, depicting a spirograph with clouds inside of it. It was an interesting, yet baffling, design, and it made no sense to Hiccup, no matter how many times he came here to look at them.

Aside from that, the room was pretty much barebones. No places to hide.

"Where is that Night Fury...?", wondered Hiccup aloud, hoping to receive some sort of divine revelation of the whereabouts of his bud.

All he got was a Pesterchum notification that most definitely startled him due to the fact that he was getting used the silence of the ruins. He was ready to rap on his friend for scaring the pants off of him, but he mellowed out when he read who was the sender.

* * *

\- antarcticanTrickster [AT] began pestering tinyGlaurung [TG] at 9:28 AM -

* * *

"AT: yo like hey i guess i should probably tell you something really important"

"AT: considering the date that it is today and all"

"AT: and i really want to type something incredibly corny and cheesy and possibly edging on the levels of homosexual"

"AT: but im trying to catch my breath from running around like a jackass because i had to go pick up this lame game you wanted to play and"

"AT: its so fucking hot outside you have no idea bro like its bananas outside and they all melted or something"

"AT: and i forgot what was the point i was trying to make fuck"

* * *

Hiccup chuckled as he saw Jackson ramble on, trying to keep up his cool and aloof persona, but he decided to play along. Because Hiccup knew exactly what Jackson was trying to say.

* * *

"TG: Thank you for the birthday wishes, Jack!"

"AT: you know it bro always there for ya"

"AT: except when i absolutely cant which is probably more of my fault than anyones really"

"AT: i have to pull all my pranks every day or it just feels like a waste you know"

"TG: You really need to keep your pranking in check, you goof."

"AT: man i dont need you to get on my case about that north already gave me a whole earful about it"

* * *

Hiccup smiled. This was ever so familiar.

* * *

"TG: Did he use the safe again?"

"AT: see thats what I dont get i just filled some douches with tar and feathers wheres the wrong in that they deserve it"

"TG: I guess parents just cant understand the intrinsic artistry behind the jokes you pull off."

"AT: haha yeah its downright philistine i tell you youre the only one who actually gets my jokes"

"TG: I don't approve of them, though!"

* * *

Hiccup really didn't. Or rather, he didn't like it when Jackson got in trouble for it. Especially because, most of the time, the other teen pulled those pranks on people who deserved them. Mostly bullies. But adults on Burgess were always against Jack, or so the auburn and his friends heard. Being infamous sounded like a pain the rear.

* * *

"AT: im sure jamie approved of it when i saved his ass"

"AT: of course north somehow got wind of it and thats why i had to sneak out to get my copies of the game"

"AT: i hope you appreciate this as a birthday gesture because ill be in such deep shit if i get caught"

* * *

Hiccup bit his lip as he read that. A sense of guilt filled his heart as he typed in the words.

* * *

"TG: Honestly, I'd feel bad if you got in even more trouble. I'm sorry about that, I didn't know about it."

* * *

The answer to his message took a bit to come.

* * *

"AT: nah dont worry your silly head about it its cool"

"AT: really i was just messing with you hic im not mad or anything"

"AT: and tbh it wouldn be a pretty bad birthday gesture to blame you about this so yeah were cool right"

* * *

Hiccup sighed with relief as he read Jack's message. His answer was fast.

* * *

"TG: Yeah. But really, you better get back home before North notices your absence."

"AT: yeah i guess youre right see ya later hic"

"AT: and for the record"

"AT: not that anyone is keeping track of any of this but whatever"

"AT: happy birthday man keep being you nerdy but cool"

* * *

\- antarcticanTrickster [AT] ceased pestering tinyGlaurung [TG] at 9: 35 AM -

It didn't matter what anyone said about Jackson, Hiccup thought he was a great friend. This message to him was proof of that. Sure, at the beginning, when he first met Jackson through an artistic photography board (a hobby they shared, but that Jackson was definitely more passionate about), Hiccup thought he was, well, kind of a jackass. But further interactions through private messages and later on through Pesterchum changes his perception of the white haired teen.

On the surface he was carefree and aloof, and his way of typing reflected that. But he was more than that, he paid attention to details and cared deeply about people and their perception of him. In a way, Jackson reminded Hiccup of Toothless, and that's why he could relate so well to the other teen.

Speaking of which...

Arriving in a rather flashy and most certainly green-y, sparkling manner was that elusive Night Fury, no doubt lured here by the smell of fish on Hiccup's possession. On the subject of sniffing out fish from any place in space-time as far as everyone is concerned, there is no one better than Toothless. He's simply the best there is.

Hiccup gulped as he saw his friend sneak closer to him, Sburb copy in his mouth. This was it; the moment of truth. He had toiled away for a long time and had gone through intensive bouts of physical activities to get here. There was no feasible way he would mess this up. He was going to go through with this and he would get the copy, get back home and finally play this long-awaited game of his. And we would all witness this.

* * *

_**Psyche.** _

* * *

In a far away kingdom, that could be described as prosperous and certainly surrounded by mountains and close to the sea, a kingdom known as Arendelle, lives a young girl. Her name is Anna of Arendelle, and it must be mentioned that she is of royal blood, lest we forget.

Today is a very special day for the young princess, for today she is going to play a game with her friends and her older sister. A game she has heard is going to change her world. It looked like even the entire castle and town knew about the importance of today's date, for the whole kingdom was bustling with energy not unlike the one seen whenever a large festival is going on.

It was incredibly exciting for Anna. She loved it when the doors of the castle opened to the town's inhabitants. Anna didn't know why Elsa was inviting every citizen of Arendelle into the castle just because they were playing a game, but she wasn't complaining about.

No, what was bumming her was the fact that despite having the game, Elsa hadn't started it up with her at all. In fact, she was being quite elusive all morning, more so than usual. Anna was antsy to start already and so, after wishing Hiccup a happy birthday, she went around the castle to hunt down the elusive sister.

After quite some time and some clumsy bumping around the castle's furniture, she finally managed to narrow down her sister's location. Elsa was looking as stunning as ever, overlooking the flood of villagers into the castle foyer from the balcony overseeing the stairs. Her light blue dress with black sleeves and the purple cape was just a beautiful ensemble.

Anna always felt a little less whenever she was around her elder sibling. That was all there was to say in that matter.

Still, she had to put those feelings of inadequacy aside. With a smile, she approached her sister and greeted her as enthusiastically as she could. What was the point in a greeting if it wasn't in earnest?

"Hello, Elsa! What a nice morning we're having!"

The silver-haired girl broke her stoic expression for a second as she greeted her little sister with a smile, before turning her attention back to the crowd below them. She nodded slightly before answering. "Indeed, the weather has been fairly accommodating with today's procedures, so I can't say I'm displeased."

Anna chuckled at the roundabout way Elsa talked. She had always been the kind of person to try to justify her emotions at every chance she got. Nevertheless, Anna didn't quite understand the motive behind the gathering of people before them. "I still don't understand why you called everyone to the castle, sis. I mean, I get this game is important and all, but you and I are the only ones who are going to play, so I don't-"

"I am not going to play this game."

Elsa's interjection took out the wind of Anna's figurative sails. "W-what? But I thought-"

"What you thought... and what is actually going to happen is not the same.", the silver-haired girl spoke without betraying any emotion. "You will play this game alone. We all have our roles to play and mine is to remain here and to ensure the kingdom's citizens' safety. Yours will be to play this game. That is all."

"No, that is most certainly not all!", shouted Anna, outrage clear in her face. "You told me you were going to play! You lied to me!". Her voice quivered a little. "You told me we were g-going to do this... together! A-and now you're bailing on me again?! That's so unfair."

Anna had been so excited. Ever since their parents' death, Elsa had been so distant and cold, no doubt because of the trauma of the incident and because she had to take charge of the kingdom due to her being the eldest daughter. Through all that, Anna had been lonely. Though she had friends in Hiccup and the others, not being to talk or even interact with Elsa, the one she had been closest to... frankly sucked. And then Elsa one day agreed to play Sburb with her when Anna dared to ask, expecting a rejection. Her agreement to play had elated Anna. She had been looking forward to spend some quality time with her...!

And now...!

"Whether it's unfair or not... that is not the point."

Another cold remark. Another expressionless mask.

"Everyone has a role to play, as I've said. That is all. Now get ready, Anna. You must play this game."

Anna shook her head. "I don't want to play this stupid game anymore! What's the point if you're not in it?!"

Elsa didn't even stutter or pause. "You will play this game, or else you will doom us all. And I know you, Anna. You wouldn't be able to bear it if everyone in this room died because of you."

Anna tried to read the expression on Elsa's perfect poker face, to try to find any sense on her sister's maddening words. "What are you even talking about...?! This is just a game! There's no way a game like that would doom anybody!"

The girl turned away from her older sister, an indignant huff leaving her lips. "Whatever... I'm not going to play it... I'm done with this." And with that, Anna left the room, trying to drown the whispers from the audience that had spectated everything that transpired.

To no one's surprise, Anna's and Elsa's claim that they would never play the game would end up being false on premise. This would have been a more startling development if the premise of this story hadn't been told to all of us before hand.

Through convoluted and nonsensical happenings, both girls would eventually be forced to participate in Sburb.

But those convoluted and nonsensical happenings would be a tale for another time, for now we must focus on the convoluted and nonsensical happenings of a certain other person.

* * *

**> Hiro: Examine stuff deployed from the Phernallia Registry**

* * *

-terrifyingGrima [tG] started pestering combativeTechnologist [CT] at 9:35 AM-

"tG: Did you finally get everything you need, or are you going to keep wasting my time?"

"CT: Stop whining! man, you sure are a pain the butt! yes, i got everything i needed, hold the phone!"

Hiro let out an exasperated breath as he walked towards the weird object that had been deployed in what was once Aunt's Cass cafe, which occupied the first floor of Hiro's house. Of course, nothing much remained from the cafe, as all the tables had been moved around in order to make space for the gargantuan object. The rest of Hiro's house was in pretty much the same state. The kitchen was being occupied by a rather large platform with a weird pedestal attached to its side. According to tG, this was called the ALCHEMITER, though Hiro had no idea what it did as he couldn't get a reaction out of it. Blocking the door that led upstairs was also another weird contraption named the TOTEM LATHE. It was a long structure that resembled a C, a wide space where something could be placed apparent. Hiro had also noticed that this machine had a slot to insert something on it on its side but just like the other machine, Hiro couldn't get it to start up. So he ignored them and walked to the previously narrated location, where he found...

Another object didn't recognize.

So far, all the visions he had seen had been quite unlike the things he was going through. In his visions, Hiro saw himself flying around a golden kingdom, going in crazy adventures in a weird land and fighting monsters. Not... this sort of meteorite-rain-of-doom deal, that's for sure. Nor had he ever seen the object that was blocking the entrance and only sensible exit from the building.

 _"Great going, Rapunzel."_ , thought the Japanese kid bitterly, lamenting the choices of the blonde girl. Still, there wasn't much he could do about it now. According to tG, this thing had to do with the game, and he had to figure out what that "what" was. Approaching the object with caution, he studied it. It was entirely white and definitely made of metal. It had a wide, square base with a LED display, though now it wasn't showing anything, and from the middle of the base rose a shaft which had a lid with a spirograph on top of it, and a black valve handle attached to its side.

Hiro tried the handle, but no matter how much pressure he applied, the valve wouldn't budge an inch. No other changes were appreciable on the weird object, and Hiro was basically stumped. With displeasure, he decided to consult with tG.

* * *

"CT: So. this thing. what's its deal?"

"tG: OK, that thing is the CRUXTRUDER. It's basically the beginning of this whole ridiculous and utterly unnecessarily complicated chain of events. This is what will truly kickstart the game."

"tG: You need to remove the lid first. I don't care how you do it, but you have to use something strong enough to pop that thing off."

"CT: And i suppose youre not going to tell me what that is, you apparently-all-knowing-jerk?"

"tG: No shit I won't, Sherlock. You're the goddamn genius of the group of imbeciles you figure it out."

* * *

And that's all he wrote. Useful as ever, thought Hiro. Still, he had indeed just the thing to pop that lid off. Still trying to get used to the abstract concept of a sylladex, Hiro summoned from it something he had picked up from Tadashi's room as he went around confirming the location of all the objects Rapunzel had deployed.

A red case was dropped in the floor unceremoniously, and with a beep, it opened up to reveal what looked like a bundled up white balloon. It only took a few seconds for it to inflate itself up, revealing a humanoid, chubby robot with black, camera-like eyes. It blinked a few times as it assessed its surroundings, before clumsily turning around in its place to face the smiling Japanese kid.

"Hello, I am Baymax. Your personal healthcare companion.", spoke the robot in an earnest yet obviously robotic voice. Hiro was so glad Tadashi hadn't decided to take Baymax with him. He would certainly be useful in this situation.

"tG: Oh god, I forgot about this useless piece of shit. I can't wait for it to get punctured all the time on your journey, that is going to be hilarious."

Hiro ignored tG's scathing message and the fact that he was also able to see what Hiro was doing and turned to face the white, inflatable robot. "Heeey, Baymax! Listen... I kinda need your help, like... urgently."

The robot blinked before talking. "In what manner can I assist you? Are you not feeling well?"

The Japanese kid wasted no time and pointed towards the Cruxtruder. "I need you to turn that wheel so I can get the lid off. Can you do that?"

"Will turning this wheel make me a better healthcare companion?", asked Baymax as he stared at the contraption without moving. Hiro rolled his eyes before responding.

"Considering the fact that I will die if you don't do so, then... yes! Helping me stay alive would certainly make you a better healthcare companion!"

"tG: This is absolutely fantastic, oh how I missed these enchanting exchanges that amount to nothing."

Hiro continued to ignore tG's remarks and watched with small worry as Baymax cranked the valve with problems at first. Eventually, the stubborn mechanism gave to Baymax's strength and the lid unceremoniously popped off, ceremoniously leaving 3 feet in the air before a glowing sphere emerged from it. It was emitting a red light and flashing intermittently, but Hiro could make a spirograph design through its flickering surface.  _"Gee, someone had a thing for that design in this game"_ , thought Hiro as he tried to appraise what he was going to do with that floating thing.

And that's when he noticed it: the LED display on the Cruxtruder had started up, and now it displayed a rather ominous countdown.

8:15

Eight minutes and fifteen seconds. And counting.

Fishing for his phone far more frantically than he dared to admit, Hiro started to consult with that vitriolic jerk.

* * *

"CT: So... OK... I did what you told me and everything but now what? what is this countdown?"

"tG: That, my oriental-flavored loser, is the time you have to figure out this shit down. If you can't figure out what to do you'll be squashed by a meteor and that will be the end of you!"

* * *

Hiro gulped audibly. His fingers tapped against the touch screen of his phone even more so.

* * *

"CT: OK ok ok... what do i do?"

"tG: That... is for you to figure out."

* * *

A cold bead of sweat rolled down Hiro's forehead. Nervously, he typed his message as fast as he could.

* * *

"CT: COMEON! you cant just lead me on like this and leave me hanging on the critical hour! this is my life on the line here!"

"tG: Oh look, we've reached the land of "I don't give a single absolute shit" and the population is me and my feelings about your survival."

"tG: I have better things to do than to worry about your lame ass. We all have hot irons on the fire and we need to attend to them."

"tG: That is basically me saying 'get a move on or enjoy a hot serving of fiery rock space', you jerkboy genius."

"tG: All I will say before I leave, though, is this. Take them as hints or don't, I don't give a fuck."

* * *

Hiro waited with bated breath for the next set of messages. He wanted to scream at tG more for leaving him alone in this critical moment, but he needed to focus on the primary thing: a way to escape.

* * *

"tG: First, that sphere of yours is a KERNELSPRITE. Before anything else, you'll need to throw something into it. That is called PROTOTYPING. It can be whatever, but you need to do this first. What you throw in is up to you."

"tG: My second and last piece of advice is: You remember that pre-punched card you got? You'll need to do something with it and the machines that blonde ditz deployed to escape."

"tG: And, that is all. Adios, Zero. Hopefully, you won't die here this time. Only so I can look forward to more painful possible deaths for you in the future."

\- terrifyingGrima [tG] ceased pestering combativeTechnologist [CT] -

* * *

_"Well, shit."_

Hiro was now in real trouble. He was now rethinking his smug position; how could he have thought that he was in the know of everything about the game? He had no idea what a Kernelsprite was or what to do with the pre-punched card and he had no idea what any of the objects aside from the Cruxtruder did. And his server player, Rapunzel, the only one who could possibly help him out, was still offline.

It would be an understatement to say that Hiro was scared. And unsure of how to proceed. He had only wanted to meet his friends, but now, he was in a situation where not only his life was at risk, but the lives of others were in peril as well. If he didn't do something in 7 minutes and 10 seconds he would... he would...!

Through the immense sense of fear he felt, a primal instinct rose. One seen mostly in creatures who, upon realizing that they were pretty much fucked, decided to rise up to the occasion and do something to not die horribly. Self-preservation instincts, if you would.

Already sweaty from the immense pressure he was feeling from this whole situation, Hiro tore his gaze away from the phone screen and faced the Cruxtruder. Baymax was still cranking the valve and from the hollow shaft came out a single piece of...  _something_. Hiro cautiously picked it up. It was a crystalline cylindrical object colored red. Since it came from the Cruxtruder, it had obviously something to do with the game and what he was supposed to do. But what?

He had no idea what to do, but since it was obviously important, Hiro captchalogued it, in case it would be useful later. For now, he had to focus on prototyping the kernelsprite, whatever that meant. According to tG, he had to throw in something into it. Maybe doing so would clue him in on what to do next? But what could he throw in? Hiro ruled out Baymax; he was too important to Tadashi, and by extension to Hiro, to just throw away. An idea dawned on the Japanese kid's head. Bringing it out from his sylladex, Hiro held in his hand a small bundle of metallic bits.

But not just any metallic bits. This jumble of apparent junk was an invention of his. In reality, they were a number of highly advanced mini robots aptly named MICROBOTS. He had designed them to be controlled with a neuro-transmitter and when ordered to move in large numbers, they could do pretty much anything viable in the physical realm. These were just spares he had as leftovers from the main ones, which now were residing inside a certain package to a certain friend that was set to be delivered because of a certain important life event/date.

There was no way prototyping this would come to bite Hiro in the ass later, soon or otherwise.

With a wind up motion, Hiro threw the fistful of microbots Kernelsprite-wise and the robotic bits disappeared into the floating sphere in a luminous display that blinded the Japanese kid. With bated breath, Hiro peered through the light with narrowed eyes, eager to see what had happened to the kernelsprite...

* * *

**> Rapunzel: Reconnect with Hiro.**

* * *

"It's no use.", complained the blonde as she tried her computer's power switch, the machine refusing to turn on. "It's a power outage, I can't turn it on." The blonde felt bad for losing power and leaving Hiro hanging, She knew how much the Japanese kid was looking forward to it, so this was almost bordering on rude, disconnecting from him. In situations like these, Rapunzel knew what had to be done.

"So, now what? Can we spend some time together?", asked Flynn looking hopeful. All he got in response was a Pascal being plopped down on his head, the brunette sharing his bewilderment with the chameleon as they saw Rapunzel remove a rug in the centre of the room, revealing a concealed trap door.

"Whoa, um... what are you doing?", asked Flynn as he saw Rapunzel swing the trap door open, dust and creaking sounds resounding on the blonde's room. She looked at Flynn as if the question didn't make sense, before answering cheerfully.

"I'm going to restore power by going to the basement!"

Flynn walked over to where the blonde was standing and peered into the hole the trapdoor was covering. Stairs descended into an almost dark and poorly lit room he had never seen on all his visits before. To say that the view was upsetting him was a misunderstanding. Trying to look unperturbed, Flynn pocketed his hands and gave a noncommittal shrug. "Eh... I dunno... I don't fancy dark places..."

Rapunzel rolled her eyes before answering with a snicker. "And that's why I'm going down there by myself. Pascal hates it down there too, so you both can stay and be buddies while I'm gone."

"Oh, joy.", retorted Flynn before Rapunzel shoved him playfully. The blonde smiled at him. "Don't worry, I'll be back soon. As soon as the power returns, reconnect with Hiro and help him while I return. Knowing him, he might need help!"

Deciding to not comment on the fact that if anyone needed help in this room was Rapunzel herself, Flynn gave her a nod. In response, Rapunzel descended through the darkened stairs with practiced ease and in mere moments, she was gone, leaving an awkward ambiance between reptile and man. Flynn hoped she wouldn't take long...

And ideally, she wouldn't. It wasn't common for the tower were they lived to lose power, and normally, Rapunzel was forbidden to leave her room even when this happened because Gothel would take care of it by herself. However, in times like these when Gothel wasn't home, she was allowed to return power to the tower using the basement's equipment as long as that was all she did. And so Rapunzel did; she enjoyed the occasions when this happened because that meant she could see at least a part of her home she normally had no access to, but she didn't want to get too curious and disobey Gothel. Being grounded sucked.

Rapunzel descended the stairs quickly, trying to not dawdle too much in the room she was passing through; the one below hers belonged to her mother and she was forbidden from being here when Gothel wasn't home. She had ignored this room all the times she had to go down to the basement that she couldn't even describe it, even though she was highly curious about it. But she had to obey... or else...

Instead of dwelling on this train of thought, she went down to the next floor. And another. And one more. All of these rooms blended together to Rapunzel since she wasn't allowed to be here. The only room she vaguely had an idea about was the kitchen and much like the next room and the basement, she was only allowed here when Gothel was home.

The floor before the basement was special. And it was the only room Rapunzel was explicitly allowed to go to all the times. Almost suspiciously so. But she didn't mind. After all, this was the room where all her brothers and sisters lived, as Gothel would said. It was a pretty oddly furnished room, the only piece of furniture on it being, well, a horribly large tea table, enough to hold about 20 chairs around it. And sitting on all of them were the previously mentioned "sisters and brothers". They were all Gothel's puppet collection.

From a young age, Rapunzel was told to think of these puppets as her siblings. And though she did think that during most of her childhood, now she knew she didn't hold any relation to them. They were still pretty cute, so the blonde was happy to refer to them as her siblings. All of Gothel's collection of puppets came in two variations: black puppets and white puppets, and they had the same basic design, which was minimalist to a fault. Completely painted in white or black paint, they all had the same round head, bead-like eyes and cylindrical torso, with jointed arms and legs. The only thing that was unique among them were their clothing, the white clad in yellow and blue pajamas with a moon crest on the chest, and the black clad in purple and gray pajamas, a similar crest on them as well. All in all, in Rapunzel's opinion, they were sympathetic looking chaps and she usually came here after she got bored a little of staying cooped up in her room. They were all good company.

Well... not all of them, precisely... Gothel's favorite puppet was an... interesting one, to say the least. Completely unlike the others in design, LIL CAL was, in Gothel's words "the most important one" in her collection. Wearing a gray hat backwards and featuring pronounced cheeks, red solid dots on them to simulate blushing against a pale skin, and possessing striking red lips, a toothy grin with an eye-catching gold tooth and blue eyes, Lil Cal was certainly an oddity among his string-manipulated peers. Clad in a blue t-shirt with the word CAL printed on the front and wearing a golden chain, Rapunzel could only say something for certain about this particular sibling.

It freaked her out a lot.

She was sure it was just her mind playing tricks on her, but she could swear Cal would often stare at her whenever she came to this room. She could also swear the puppet sometimes moved on its own to different positions in the room, and she would often think that he could hear it laugh. But it was all in her head, surely. So she at least paid her respects to it, as Gothel instructed.

But that was neither here or there. Rapunzel descended the last flight of stairs and entered her destination. The basement.

This room was completely unlike the others in the tower. Encased in gray tiles and walls, it had a somber feeling to it. The most prominent feature on this room was a giant LED monitor attached to a station primed with a keyboard, a random assorting of buttons and lights, and a panel with a bar that was flashing the words "EMPTY" and a dial currently set to a moon symbol similar to those seen in the clothes of Gothel's puppets. Rapunzel found this odd; it wasn't unusual to see the dial set to that spot at all, because whenever her mom went away on one of her long trips, she usually used this machine to do so. This machine, appropriately named the TRANSPORTALIZER, was capable of sending anything and anyone to where the dial was set to.

What Rapunzel found odd was the fact that the Transportalizer had been used at all. Whenever Gothel had to leave for a long time, which meant use of the machine, she announced so but this time around she actually left through the window, using Rapunzel's long hair as a rope to leave the tower. The fact that the energy bar was displaying "EMPTY" further proved that the machine had been used; transportalizing took a huge amount of URANIUM to use and the tower's energy grid was shared with the machine. The power probably went out because Gothel had used the machine, depleting the uranium. But why would her mom go out of her way to use the Transportalizer in such a roundabout and hidden way? Was she up to something?

Though Rapunzel was quite curious about where her mom had gone to, she decided not to let her curiosity get the better of her. She had to help Hiro. The blonde approached the station and typed away the simple instructions needed to resupply the energy source with uranium. The machinery in this room was sophisticated and yet it needed commands typed by humans to load more uranium in cases like these... it was ironic, in a way, probably. It took only a few seconds for the radioactive material to be supplied to the tower, done so in the background. With the power back on, Rapunzel only had to get back to her computer to get the game back in action.

Hopefully, Hiro wouldn't be in too much trouble.

* * *

**> Hiro: Figure this out already**

* * *

6:35

* * *

Thankfully, Hiro had been able to make some progress thanks to his new guide, MICROBOTSPRITE. Having prototyped the kernelsprite as he had been instructed to, he found that the weird sphere was capable of using its microbot component to form words and answer questions from Hiro, much like a guide. Well, an especially coy guide as more often than not, the Microbotsprite decided to answer with elipsis rather than with sentences, but Hiro got the gist of what he had to do with some logical thinking. With time, and space rock, hot on his heels, the Japanese kid set off upstairs in search of the Tothem Lathe, not before chastising Baymax for "messing around with important stuff, those dowels are not toys!".

* * *

_A looming shadow envelops the Hamada household, fiery rock unrelentingly proceeding towards its target, its descent shaking the very earth..._

* * *

5:40

* * *

_A free-spirited ROGUE finally reaches the lawn of his home, copy of game in one hand and blue hoodie in the other. He starts climbing up a tree in order to reach his_ _room..._

* * *

4:53

* * *

Having reached the Totem Lathe, Hiro brought out two things from his sylladex; the pre-punched card and a piece of CRUXITE DOWEL that he had gotten from the Cruxtruder. With urgency, he set up the dowel inside the opening of the Totem Lathe and then inserted the pre-punched card in the slot he had seen before. In an instant, the machine whirred to life and needles popped up inside the opening, a laser pointer turning on and guiding said needles, telling them were to cut and carve on the Cruxite Dowel. It took less than 10 seconds for the process to be done, and having finished its job, the machine turned off, leaving behind a Cruxite Dowel in the shape of a cup. Hiro was fascinated by the technology but decided not to dwell on it or nerd out over it; he had to get to the Alchemiter before his time was up. He grabbed the CARVED CRUXITE DOWEL and ran off once again downstairs.

* * *

3:59

* * *

_A young HEIR finishes off a satisfactory transaction with his dragon guardian, fish exchanged for a game that will change his fate. He indulges his friend with a one-sided game of tag, his mind at ease..._

* * *

3:00

* * *

Hiro reached the Alchemiter with just enough breath to put the carved piece of cruxite on the stand next to the machine before collapsing on his knees. The machine activated upon detecting the dowel and and a whirring noise signaled to Hiro that it was working. In a bright flash, a structure similar to a rocket launch pad appeared, red in color. It had a red rocket apparently made out of the same substance as the cruxite dowel. Before long, however, the launch pad disappeared without explanation, the rocket mounted on it unceremoniously falling down on the Alchemiter's pad, breaking into a lot of separate pieces.

"Oh my god... now what?!"

Hiro groaned as he stood up and checked the mess. What was he supposed to do now with this? According to the Microbotsprite's coy-yet-informative's instructions, the Alchemiter was supposed to craft his ENTRY ITEM (whatever that meant), the key to escape this mess, if he put a carved cruxite dowel from the Totem Lathe in its stand. And yet, nothing was happening. What was he supposed to do? Did he need to do something with the broken rocket?

"Maybe I... need to fix it?"

That was the only plausible thing to do. But could he do it? He had less than 3 minutes to do it and he didn't have any tools. But hesitating now would be fatal. Hiro climbed on the Alchemiter's pad and approached the broken rocket. Right. He couldn't stop here, he couldn't stop now. He had risked so much, he was going to see this weird game through, damn it.

* * *

2:30

* * *

_A plucky KNIGHT leads the evacuation efforts as a veritable deluge of meteorites strikes her kingdom along her mother. Her heart is set on protecting those under her rule, even though she doesn't want to inherit the responsibility yet._

* * *

2:10

* * *

_A brainy PRINCE fiddles with the broken remains of a space vessel, his hands shaky as he realizes time isn't on his side..._

* * *

1:40

* * *

_A young SEER lets her frustrations out in her own room, feeling more alone than ever at the recent betrayal from her own kin. She wants her own space right now_

* * *

1:00

* * *

_An aloof SYLPH sits in her private chambers, gripping the edges of a threatening letter forcing her to take decisions she regrets but that she must comply to. The ever present void between siblings must grow to assure their safety._

* * *

00:40

* * *

_An optimistic MAID climbs hurriedly the last steps of her own home, basking in the light that fills her room as she rushes towards the computer in order to aid a friend, completely unaware of the "brother" that has hitched a ride on her shoulders, its blue eyes and prominent lips catching the eyes of a bickering THIEF and_ _chameleon_

* * *

00:20

* * *

_From an unknown place, another HEIR watches the above events and all those to come with bitterness. He can't stand seeing them struggle in vain with optimistic ignorance, for they are unaware of their inevitable doom._

* * *

00:08

* * *

With a last twist, Hiro screwed in the last part of the rocket, the tip. It hadn't been that complicated as he had expected as it was an easy-to-assemble model. He just had to figure out which part went where. He had been worried he would run out of time, but it looked like he finished it in the nick of time. As soon as the rocket was finished, the little red space vessel started to shake before achieving lift off, leaving behind a trail of smoke as it rose into the air, Hiro looking at it with wonder. It went up, up in the sky... before exploding in a shower of red sparkling dust, much to the Japanese kid's confusion.

_As the Cruxite Rocket exploded,the PRINCE'S house started to shake and shine. The meteor above it approached its target with alarming speed, advancing faster and faster, setting its surroundings on fire and making the houses nearby tremble with the force it carried until it finally struck in a deafening combination of fire, shrapnel, rock and explosions. A large, mushroom-like pillar of fire rose high in the air on the centre of the impact, a shockwave leveling the neighboring houses with tremendous force and incinerating everything on its path._

_When the smoke finally cleared off, what was left of the Hamada household was a crater, not a trace of any living being or anything else having existed there at all._

* * *

00:00

**END OF ACT 1**

* * *


	6. ACT 2-1: Medium

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha remember when I updated this thing. Man, it has been so long and things have been hectic and both of my fics have suffered because of it but I'm not dropping either of them.
> 
> So here we are, another chapter. If there is still someone invested in this story, I hope you enjoy.

****ACT 2 - Into the Timeless Expanse -** **

 

 

******Chapter 6: Medium** ** **

* * *

 

 

_**Years in the future...** _

* * *

Sand. Sand as far as the eye can see. It's all that exists and that has existed for who know for how long. As such, it isn't weird or unusual for the lone figure that trudges through the scorching surface that gives away with each step taken. The sun sears both the planet's surface and the lone figure's covered head, its heat unforgiving but its presence the only reliable companion on this figure's trek.

But then again, it's not like it's easy to find companions on this place, or anywhere really. Not after all life went extinct and civilization collapsed, the only vestiges and proof of it ever existing being the wrecked remains of proud skyscrapers and buildings, the ruins being the only testament to that civilization of yore.

The figure idly thinks about using those buildings as refuge from the heat, but thinks against it; the ruins are too far in the horizon and the trek would not be worth it... by the time the figure gets there it would be night and there would be little purpose to use them as cover from the sun by that point and the structure would be of little use for cover during the night anyway; the desert was extremely cold during the dark.

As such the WANDERING SOOTHSAYER, whose hair was an unruly point mess that shared its color with the golden sand under his feet, had no other choice but to continue moving. His destination was unknown even to himself, but he had a mission he had to see through. A mission he had been working on for far too long, a mission he had undertaken under the orders of his visions and superiors. A mission that consisted of oh what is this he had stepped on all of a sudden?

The Wandering Soothsayer stopped his trek as his foot sank under the sand and stopped on something definitely not sandy at all. If he had to venture a guess, he would say that it was... metal? The short and chubby figure scratched his covered his head as he mused what to do; it wasn't unnatural for things to be buried under the sand. After all, there used to be cities and other such things before the desert took over. And yet, he was intrigued... and curious and perhaps a little hopeful; maybe this time, he would find something that would further his mission. It would be nice if he could get some assurance through his VISIONS OF THE FUTURE, but alas those stopped being a thing when tragedy befell the house he used to serve.

Still, the Wandering Soothsayer had nothing to lose, he thought. With stubby arms, the figure went to work and though exhausting and a little painful, he managed to unearth something; a white metallic surface, pristine and quite unlike anything he had seen around here greeted him, and on it laid a hatch with a Spirograph etched on it, its green lines beckoning him to open it. Sweeping away the sweat with a pale arm covered in worn bandages, much like the rest of his body, the Soothsayer smiled. At last, he had found what he was looking for. Or so he hoped.

* * *

_**The Present...** _

* * *

**Hiccup: Get Pestered by chums**

* * *

The young Viking watched with a smile on his face as he saw Toothless play around with the fish's bones. Usually, the dragon gulped down the meal in one fell swoop but on occasions, the Night Fury would be waaay too filled with energy and he would then proceed to play with his food before finally consuming it. Hiccup really couldn't admonish the dragon for bad table manners and specially not now; after all, Toothless had given back the copy of the game to him without making the Viking jump through more hoops. These games of hide-and-go-teleport-seek usually were far more convoluted and if anything, Hiccup was grateful that the dragon hadn't decided to hide on Berk's mountains. The freckled boy would take the Frog Temple any day of the week.

Forest green eyes wandered around the poorly lit room and landed on the Lotus Capsule, its time still counting down. Curiosity ate at him as he wondered what would happen when the countdown reached zero, but he would have to wait quite a while to find out; the clock still 8 hours and so to go. Giving up on that prospect, the lithe teen stood up. He had a long way to get back home and install the game and he had a feeling Toothless wasn't going to give him a ride back this time; the dragon looked rather frisky and mischievous today and he didn't want another prank played on him today; he had Jack for that.

As he exited the Temple's Main Chamber, a notification reached the auburn-haired teen's phone. Wondering idly who was messaging him, Hiccup both smiled and grimaced at the names that were displayed: one of them was a dear friend he always enjoyed chatting with, and the other... well, there was a reason Hiccup had moved this jerk to the trollslum portion of his chumroll (or as its more colloquially known: blocked and contacts lists), he hated this guy a lot. The only reason he even entertained the idea of interacting with this person was because of... complicated reasons surrounding his family. A stubborn father. Phone privileges hanging on talking with an obnoxious and ornery cousin. Stuff like that.

Since his phone service hinged on talking with his cousin, Hiccup decided to check what this guy wanted and deal with him fast and snappy; he didn't want his birthday to be ruined like so. Slender fingers moved through the interface of the device as he typed out his message:

* * *

-tyrantAscended [TA] began pestering tinyGlaurung [TG] at 9:40 AM-

* * *

TA: BROTHER. HEEEEEY. BROOOOOO

TA: WHAT. ARE YOU. DOING. BRO?

TA: HEY I. SAID. PAY ATTENTION. TO ME. HICCUP! GOD DAMN. IT!

TG: Siiiiigh. What do you want, Dagur? I'm kind of busy at the moment and I don't want to talk to you, y'know?

TG: See, I even typed out a sigh for you like a tool to show how much I do not want to do this.

TA: BULLSHIT. YOU'RE. PROBABLY. JUST. PLAYING. AROUND. WITH. THAT. HELLBEAST. DRAGON. FREAK. OF YOURS.

TA: WHY DO. YOU EVEN. KEEP. THAT. THING. AROUND. YOU. DON'T. EVEN. KNOW. WHERE. IT. CAME. FROM.

TA: IT'S SPOOKY. AS SHIT.

TA: YOU SHOULD. TAKE. IT OUT. TO THE. BACK. OF YOUR. HOUSE. AND BLOW. ITS HEAD. OFF WITH. A SHOTGUN.

* * *

Hiccup was already trying to resist the urge to tell him off. An urge he failed to resist miserably.

* * *

TG: Hell no! Toothless is my best friend, and I would never harm him!

TA: PSH WHATEVER. ITS NOT. LIKE. YOU COULD. ACTUALLY. HARM. HIM OR. ANYTHING.

TA: FREAKING. EVIL. DEVILBEAST. POWERS.

* * *

Hiccup hated to admit it but Dagur had a point. Toothless was completely unique as a dragon. For once, he was among the very highest on the danger scale due to its cunning, strength and speed. Night Furies were feared in Berk to the point that they were hunted down to almost extinction by the earlier inhabitants of the island. But Toothless was different from normal Night Furies, according to local legend. The Night Fury had an uncanny mastery over space time, capable of teletransporting itself and others in the blink of an eye, effectively nullifying any kind of damage to itself, and its offensive capabilities had been boosted by some unknown source. On top of that, the dragon was old as time. It went through cycles of growing up, dying and reviving, but the dragon itself had been alive for far more than Berk's entire history. Some said he was around before humans even existed.

But of course, those were fairy tales for dumb baby vikings that still dirtied their diapers. There was no way anything about that legend was true anyways. The point, however, was that Toothless had a lot of unnatural abilities that made him near untouchable. But Hiccup liked his friend just the same, and he wouldn't EVER point a weapon at him, ability to harm him or not notwithstanding.

Dagur was just being his usual lousy self and Hiccup was getting tired of it already

* * *

TG: Ugh, just. What do you want, Dagur? I have stuff to do, unlike SOMEONE I know.

TG: That someone is you, in case the hint wasn't as obvious as I hoped it was.

* * *

There was a brief weird pause before the next message arrived.

* * *

TA: HONESTLY. HICCUP. I'M WOUNDED. YOU KNOW? TERRIBLY SO.

TA: I CANNOT. BELIEVE. YOU FORGOT. TO INVITE. ME TO. YOUR. BIRTHDAY. PARTY.  _AGAIN._

TA: NOT THAT. I WOULD. HAVE. MISSED. IT OR. ANYTHING. I HAVE. THE DATE. MEMORIZED.

TA: BECAUSE. THAT'S. WHAT. EXCELLENT. BROS DO. 8D

TG: Have you considered why I didn't invite you? Oh I dunno, it might have been the fact that I do not want you there?

* * *

Hiccup knew he was pushing his luck and that the consequences for this would be nerve-wracking and possibly painful, but that was always the case when Dagur was involved.

* * *

TA: THAT. IS A RIDICULOUS. NOTION. AND I. WILL. PRETEND. TO IGNORE IT.

TA: BECAUSE. PRETENDING. THAT. THINGS. DIDN'T. HAPPEN. IS THE. FIRST. STEP. TO MAKE. THINGS. LESS. REAL. 8]

TA: BESIDES. I KNOW. YOU LOVE. WHEN. I VISIT.

TA: YOU'RE. ALWAYS. SCREAMING. WITH. DELIGHT. DURING. MY WHOLE. TIME. THERE. BROTHER!

TG: No I'm not! Dagur, all you really do is torture and annoy me! If it was up to me you wouldn't even be talking to me right now!

TG: Gods, how can you be so dense? That's really the biggest mystery on this island! I just can't stand you!

* * *

That was putting it lightly. What Hiccup really felt towards his cousin, towards Dagur, was hate and honestly a smidgen of fear. But no one could blame him for that. Years of putting up with violent tendencies from the older teen had stunted Hiccup's drive to make friends permanently, and he was now terrified of sharp objects, no doubt because of the constant target practices he was forced to endure for Dagur's amusement. What Hiccup hated the most, though, was the fact that his Father didn't believe him. Stoick was so sure Dagur was going to be a good influence of his son that he allowed the abuse to continue until Hiccup was 12, when he got cut up pretty bad and earning himself a scar on his chin. That's where Valka drew the line and banned all of Dagur's constant visits to a minimum.

Still, he was family, and Stoick was pretty insistent on allowing the deranged teen to visit at least on special occasions. Which unfortunately means that he was coming over to the Haddock household for Hiccup's birthday.

* * *

TA: BULLSHIT. YOU LOVE. IT WHEN. I USE MY. KNIFE-THROWING. SKILLS. ON YOU.

TA: BUT DON'T. WORRY. BROTHER. TODAY. YOUR. BIRTHDAY. WILL. BE ONE. TO REMEMBER.

TA:I CAME. UP WITH. SOME. NEW SKILLS. THAT. I'M DYING. TO SHOW. YOU. SO LOOK. FORWARD. TO IT. 8D

-tyrantAscended [TA] ceased pestering tinyGlaurung [TG] at 9: 45 AM-

* * *

Hiccup sighed with relief. Usually, the chats with Dagur dragged in for far longer than he was willing to put up with. However, the contents of this particular conversation were putting the young man on edge again. If Hiro was right about this game being important, Hiccup hoped it would at least help him escape from this horrible situation.

Not that it was possible. After all, it was just a game.

Another sigh escaped the brunette's lips. There was no use in daydreaming or filling himself with dread with possible scenarios. First, he needed to get back to his house if he wanted to install this game. He had gone through so much to get it back, he might as well play it. Toothless seemed to sense the thin boy's anxiousness to play because the dragon stopped messing around with its food and then proceeded to lift the boy by the shirt and throwing him on its back for a ride, a yelp escaping Hiccup's mouth as he landed on the dragon's back and he held for dear life as the dragon started to move.

Fortunately, Toothless didn't seem to be in a hurry, because the dragon decided to walk instead of fly, much to Hiccup's relief. He hadn't brought his flying gear. Grateful with his bud's sensible choice, the green-eyed youth decided to check the other message he had received as the Night Fury idly strolled its way down the Frog Temple and into Berk's thick woods.

* * *

-uranianUmbra [UU] started pestering tinyGlaurung [TG] at 9:49 AM-

UU: Cheers, HiccUp! ^u^

UU: Happy birthday, love!

TG: Haha, hello there! Thank you!

UU: So, today is the big day, hUh? I bet yoU're excited for this momentoUs occasion!

TG: Ehh... not really. Birthday's aren't that much of a big deal.

UU: Nonsense! The day of one's birth is of tremendoUs importance!

UU: Why, it is the day yoU arrived into this world, and thUs gave Us all the privilege of getting to know you eventUally! ^u^

TG: Hahaha, if you say so. I... don't really think it's that important, but I know how you get about this subject so I will drop it.

UU: Sheesh! YoU seem crankier than UsUal! Is there something amiss, dear? :U

TG: Nothing really. Just more Dagur problems.

UU: Ah, that says it all. Speak no more.

UU: Will yoU be alright? The way yoU speak aboUt him greatly makes me worry aboUt yoUr well being u.u

TG: Don't worry about it. It will take more than Dagur to break through all this raw vikingness.

TG: Please pretend that I was flexing while I said that.

UU: Hee hee, dUly noted ^u^!

* * *

Hiccup smiled he read the positive messages, the trees above him shielding him from Berk's unusually hot Winter. This day had been weird and chaotic so far, but if anything, Jack's and his friends' birthday wishes made everything bearable. Especially the ones from UU.

She was... an oddity even among Hiccup's friends. One day, she just appeared in everyone's contact list and that set off quite a few alarms. Hiccup and the others didn't block her, however, on the account that she seemed to harbor no malicious intent. She only contacted them because she was quite lonely and had wanted to make friends and had heard things about all of them through the internet and was quite curious to meet them all.

The story reeked of course, because as far as Hiccup and the others were concerned they weren't exactly internet famous, but her personality did not, and in time she made friends with everyone. Despite how close and welcome she was in Hiccup's circle of friends, though, she still remained quite a mystery for two big reasons. One: though she had made it clear that she was a girl and she was apparently British due to her way of typing, she hadn't divulged her identity to anyone at all. Not her name nor her appearance.

And the second reason was directly tied to the first and it was perhaps the most mystifying of the two. After UU had grown accustomed to them, and them to her, she revealed to each one of them through private messages that she knew far more about them that she let on. If Hiro was weird about the fact that he could predict certain outcomes about their futures, UU was even more so. In fact, one time, UU let slip to Hiccup that she knew about the true nature of the game they were going to play. The brown haired teen caught this slip but UU wouldn't say any more, her lips sealed until "the appropriate time came", in her own words. Curiosity ate up Hiccup but he knew not to pry or force the issue; UU was delicate, far more so than the other girls in their party, so he decided to wait until the time was right.

Hiccup decided that right now was a good time to ask. Maybe he would get lucky this time...

* * *

TG: Say... changing topics slightly, but you said this day was special, right?

TG: Is that because... I dunno, we are going to play Sburb today? I mean, it has to be, right?

UU: Hmm... Yes! That woUld be a correct assUmption! :U

TG: Awesome. Now, I know what your policy about spoilers and all, and I respect that but..

TG: Could you tell me more about this game? Hiro keeps saying this is a big deal, and you seem to allude to that fact as well.

TG: So, would it be too much to ask for more info about it? If this is REALLY important, I want to know what to expect!

TG: I don't want to mess this up. So, please...?

* * *

Hiccup hated how that message came across. Man, talk about begging. But he really, really wanted to know. If he had to show off a desperate persona to get more info, that's what he was going to do. His heart skipped a bit when a long pause passed before UU replied, and his eyes scanned the screen of his phone intently when the message came.

* * *

UU: I gUess yoU do have a point, dear!

UU: Very well, I will break my no spoilers policy jUst for yoU, bUt only on certain topics!

TG: Thanks! I'm sorry for pressing you, but I'm just so curious...!

UU: Hee hee! I Understand the feeling! Very well, where do I begin ^u^?

* * *

Hiccup pondered the question a little as Toothless continued his leisurely pace through the woods. The freckled teen supposed he should start with the question in the forefront of his mind.

* * *

TG: OK... first of all, what is Sburb even about? I mean, all the game magazines I have with me keep hyping it up but no one actually talks about the game and how it plays or anything! There aren't even any screenshots of gameplay!

* * *

Another pause before the next message came.

* * *

UU: I'm not sUrprised to hear that! After all, the game's trUe natUre is kept a mystery to lUre in people to play it! :U

UU: This is not yoUr rUn of the mill beepy-boop game, love! Forgive me for waxing melodramatic, bUt this game is likely the only thing that can save yoU and yoUr friends!

UU: And I Understand yoUr skepticism of this fact! BUt I don't blame yoU for not believing these words, becaUse this is also the natUre of the game that yoU are aboUt to play. The natUre of the effects this game will have in yoUr lives and that of everyone far exceeds initial comprehension of those destined to play!

* * *

Hiccup's mind was reeling. UU was right, this was hard to believe and to take at face value. A game that would save his life and decide his future? If this was any other person but UU, he would take it as a joke and dismiss the entire notion as ridiculous. But this was UU, who never lied and never played pranks. So his suspension of disbelief hung on a thin thread as he proceeded to answer UU.

* * *

TG: I... don't really follow. Are you saying this game will really affect me and the real world? Is that more of your theatrics, UU?

UU: Hee hee! Afraid not, love!

UU: SbUrb is not jUst a simple game. In fact, the game itself is a proxy to a mUch bigger event of cosmic importance!

UU: A simple tool for forces that stand in opposition, a tool whose pUrpose is to facilitate the beginning of the end, and the start of a cascading series of events that will UnfUrl across all existence and beyond even that!

UU: It is a game that will begin the end of the world, and at the same time paradoxically not!

TG: What?

* * *

"What?" was an appropriate answer to this deluge of mind-numbing information. Suddenly, Hiccup's suspension of disbelief decided to pack up almost entirely, and yet Hiro's words rang on the back of his mind. Did Hiro know this? Was this what he was alluding to? Curiosity drove his will as he elaborated on his message.

* * *

TG: Wait, are you saying that this game will destroy the world?

TG: OK, suddenly I'm finding myself not wanting to play this game anymore.

TG: Who in their right mind would play this game, knowing this?

UU: Like I said, love, not playing the game will not prevent this!

UU: YoU don't know this yet, bUt this kind of oUtcome was inevitable! The workings of Paradox Space and their inflUence on all existence far exceed the comprehension of the individUals tangled Up in the threads of fate!

UU: Yes, playing the game will start the end of the world, bUt no playing it woUld not prevent the end from coming! It is an immUtable fact that I'm stating for the record! Later on yoU will Understand this!

UU: And besides, not playing woUld sUrely doom yoU all for good! Playing the game is the only way to escape certain destrUction! :U

UU: YoUr friend Hiro Understands this, and thUs, he has already started playing!

* * *

At that, Hiccup's mind blanched.

* * *

TG: Wait... Hiro is playing already?!

Sudden worry crept upon the freckled boy's heart.

TG: Is he OK?! Did he win?!

The next message couldn't come soon enough.

* * *

UU: Yes! He is OK, love!

UU: Hiro most certainly elUded obliteration and he has started the game for real, leaving behind the meteor-riddled remains of his neighborhood and this planted doomed for destrUction! ^U^

* * *

Hiccup sighed, and Toothless chirped at his friend, who reassured the dragon that everything was OK. Somehow, he had found himself already believing everything UU was saying; the relief he felt when he read that was proof of it. And yet, he was still confused.

* * *

TG: Wait, meteor? Oh gods, did a meteor strike his house?

UU: Yes... this is the destrUction that will rain Upon yoUr planet.

UU: They come from a place different from yoUr Earth, from within the game. From a realm that paradoxically exists becaUse of the game and yet also exists independently from it.

UU: They comes from a place known as the MediUm! And this is where the game will trUly take place!

* * *

**Hiro: Go outside**

* * *

The black-haired teen dared to open his eyes after making sure and convincing himself that he wasn't dead and that he hadn't been smooshed by a giant flaming space rock. When he opened his eyes, he saw everything as he had left it; his house was intact and certainly not on fire, and there he was, still laying on the Alchemiter, the flashing Kernelsprite still floating next to him, as if expecting something from the Japanese kid.

Relief washed all over Hiro; if this wasn't some sort of after-death dream, he had done it. He had survived the first task set by Sburb. He had escaped the fiery Armageddon. Hiro wanted to yell out of excitement but then a single question popped up in his mind.

Where was he? Where had he escaped to?

Hiro gingerly got up from the Alchemiter and walked towards the nearest window, on the second floor of his house. All he saw as he peered outside was darkness. Pure undiluted darkness.

* * *

TG: The Medium? What is that?

UU: It is a part of the realm where SbUrb takes place, a part of the Incipisphere! Upon entering the game, all players will be transported into the MediUm and that's where the game will trUly start!

TG: You keep throwing all these new terms at me and I don't think you realize I am not going to keep up with all of this if you don't explain it to me.

UU: BUt I jUst did, silly! :U

UU: MUch like yoUr Earth exists on a realm yoU refer to as the solar system, SbUrb exists on a realm called the Incipisphere, and the place yoU are transported to is called the MediUm, a part of it! That's all there is to say aboUt that matter ^u^!

* * *

Hiro cautiously stepped out of his home into the street that stretched in front of Aunt Cass' cafe. Or rather, the street that USED to stretch in front of the cafe. All that remained of Hiro's neighbor was a single circle of land where his house stood, and a little surrounding terrain. It looked as if his house had been literally uprooted from where it once was and had been transported to someplace else. Someplace weird.

No matter where he looked, there was nothing but darkness around him. The skies were devoid of any clouds or stars, just a void stretching endlessly in front of him. Unnerved, Hiro walked towards the edge of the piece of land his house was standing on and looked down.

His breath caught on his mouth as he peered down into the abyss. Nothing but clouds, thick and grey, could be seen below. Faint flickers of lights of various colors could be seen sporadically, but other than that, only clouds as far as the eye could see.

Hiro was so enthralled by the scenery in front of him he almost missed the erratic behavior of his Kernelsprite who had followed him outside. The orb started to flash frantically and give off sparks before a bright flash blinded Hiro momentarily. Trying to blink away the daze, the black-haired teen looked at the spot where the Kernelsprite had been, only to be met with a mystifying sight.

The Kernelsprite had changed shape. Once, it had been a simple orb, but now the Microbotsprite had become larger, growing a body and a tail, similar to a ghost, but made out of Microbots. It still was red in color and it still floated in midair effortlessly, but it had ceased flashing. From the Microbotsprite emerged two orb, one flashing white and one flashing dark. They hovered momentarily before Hiro before floating away rapidly, the dark one plummeting below the clouds into whatever laid beyond, and the white one rising high into the air, leaving behind a trail of seven Spirograph on its ascent before disappearing into the darkened skies.

Or so Hiro thought. As he saw the white orb rise high into the maw of darkness that hung above him, something changed. A faint light began to shine through the black, warm and inviting. Using a hand to stave off the rays, Hiro tried to look for the source of the light, and that's when he saw it.

* * *

TG: So, what are we supposed to do there when we arrive? Like... what is the goal of the game? In simple terms, please.

UU: Right! I do love to go on and on aboUt this, bUt I can't help bUt to get excited!

UU: I've perUsed the stories and legends aboUt the game yoU're all aboUt to play and it's fascinating!

UU: BUt enoUgh pUrple prose from me! I sUppose it's aboUt time I told yoU about the conflict that is cUrrently taking place in the Incipisphere.

TG: Conflict?

UU: Yes! In the middle of the Incipisphere lies a dormant crUcible of limitless creative potential. This celestial body is known as Skaia, and its the soUrce of the conflict and yet at the same time, yoUr goal for this game!

TG: Huh... what are we supposed to do with it? And how do we reach it?

UU: I.. am afraid answering the first one woUld violate my no spoilers policy! At least, for now!

TG: Darn it!

UU: Watch the langUage, darling! ^u^

UU: BUt as for the second one... to reach it, yoU mUst traverse the Seven Gates that will float above the player's starting point! And to reach those Gates, one mUst bUild and climb! And one mUst do it fast, for the players aren't the only ones vying for Skaia's potential!

TG: Huh? Are... we competing against other people? Other players?

UU: Not exactly! :U

UU: In the Incipisphere exist two warring kingdoms, one of light and one of shadow and they have dUeled for the ownership of Skaia in a perfect and eternal stalemate, the army of light seeking to protect it, and the army of shadow coveting it's destrUction!

TG: An eternal stalemate...? You mean they are at a war where no one wins or loses?

UU: YUp! In the center of Skaia lies a planet known as the Battlefield, and it is here where both armies do battle in a never-changing sitUation.

UU: Never-changing, that is, Until a player enters the game! And that's when the real war begins!

UU: A war that the kingdom of light is always fated to lose inevitably!

* * *

_The Battlefield, a simple chessboard, small in size and measuring no more than three by three on all sides. On it, two chess pieces, two kings, move around in an eternal stalemate, neither losing nor winning for all eternity, unless a change takes place._

_The dark orb plummets through the clouds and exits them, continuing its descent until reaches a set of obsidian spires, eight in total, on a dark planet floating far away from Skaia's guiding light. The dark orb takes its place on one of the spires, lighting it up once it enters it._

_The white orb, meanwhile, proceeds in a similar fashion, but this one instead approaches a golden kingdom bathing on Skaia's benevolent light, the planet of light skirting the edges of white orb takes its place on one of the kingdom's eight spires._

_The Battlefield, a simple chessboard, small in size. As both kingdoms receive their respective orbs, the planet inside Skaia changes. The chessboard has changed, expanded, and now each king has an army of its own as both warring royalties engage in battle on the now twelve by twelve board. The game is afoot._

* * *

TG: Wait, the good guys are fated to lose?

TG: That... doesn't sound very encouraging. Is there even any point to playing if the game is destined to be lost from the start?

UU: Yes! There IS a point! :U

TG: ...

TG: So,uh... what is it?

TG: (Please don't say "that would be spoilers that would be spoilers that would be spoilers")

UU: I mUst regretfully inform yoU that this particUlar topic is indeed breaching on my spoiler policy! :U

UU: BUt, HiccUp, believe me when I tell yoU that yoU folks playing this game will have a tremendoUs impact throUgh all reality. Participating in this game of Lands and Consorts and Denizens, of warring Royalties and Kingdoms, of Agents and Heroes of Breath, Mind, Time, Space, Heart, Light and Void is of the Utmost importance!

UU: YoU will jUst have to believe! ^u^ Hee hee.

* * *

Hiccup sighed as he read all of the things he had talked with his mysterious friend. In retrospect, it all sounded so silly and unbelievable, and the brunette found himself blushing out of embarrassment.

* * *

TG: You do realize all of this sounds incredibly silly, right?

TG: Like, this honestly feels like a prank, or a joke. Like, you made all of this to pull the wool over my eyes, so to speak!

* * *

Hiccup wanted to believe that all of the things he had heard from UU were real. For so long, he had dreamed about fantastic adventures and mystical quests, hoping that magic and legends were real. He wanted to explore the world, go on dangerous missions and become a hero, someone of importance. All those hopes had been dashed when his father mercilessly debunked all of those things as wasteful endeavors; magic wasn't real and it was fake as shit, apparently. But Hiccup still hoped, as he put on a front so that his father wouldn't lecture him again for being an airhead dreamer who has his head on the clouds.

And yet, despite wanting those things UU had told him to be real, he still hesitated; because what if all of it was a prank? That would be the worst possible outcome. That would mean his father had been telling the truth and he had been a foolish boy who dreamed too much. So he hesitated; afraid of this decisive moment. Would he take the risk and find out if he had been right or wrong once and for all? Hiccup wasn't sure.

A message interrupted his soliloquy.

* * *

UU: I assUre yoU, I don't play pranks! U.U

UU: BUt all yoU mUst do to confirm this is simply to play the game! There, yoU will find oUt whether I am a CoUrier of TrUth or a simple Prankster Master ^u^!

UU: Regardless of yoUr coUrse of action, Skaia has begUn to set its plans into motion.

UU: I cannot force yoUr hand, bUt I woUld prefer it very mUch if yoU played the game! I rather enjoy yoUr company, HiccUp, and I woUld serioUsly hate it if yoU got smUshed by a giant rock! uwu

UU: I'll see yoU again later, love. HopefUlly! I have... a sitUation to take care of.  _He_ is acting Up again so I mUst leave.

UU: Happy birthday, HiccUp! kisses!

\- uranianUmbra [UU] ceased pestering tinyGlaurung [TG] at 9:59 AM -

* * *

Well, wasn't that ominous and worrying. Now he was suddenly compelled to play the game more than ever. Still, UU had been right. If Hiccup wanted to get answers, all he had to do was to play the game. Suspension of disbelief notwithstanding, it wasn't like he had any other plans for the day... or at least, better plans. His birthday party was going to be a stressful endeavor, and Dagur was going to come over to his house. If this game was going to teleport him to a dimension far away from home and this harrowing situation, well... it was worth a shot.

He was also worried about his friends. Now that he knew about the nature of the game, he found himself wondering if Hiro knew all of this. Had he told the others yet? If not, all of them were in danger. He had to warn them and make sure Hiro was safe.

And... he had to get himself to his house. If UU wasn't lying, then the prospect of having a looming space rock over his house was going to be very real pretty soon.

Once again, Hiccup cursed the hunch he had gotten earlier. Yes, today was going to be a long day.

* * *

_**Years in the Future...** _

* * *

Under the hatch, the Wandering Soothsayer found a set of stairs descending into an unknown darkness below the sands. Hesitation apprehended the heart of the Soothsayer; he hated darkness the most of all, as he hated the night and the nightmares that came with it. Still, he had to brave this if he wanted his mission to succeed. The promise he made was not going to be broken just because of a silly fear.

It took WS some time to descend fully, the darkness partially obscuring the reality of the structure he was going down into. After an excruciating amount of time, the Soothsayer reached the bottom of the shaft, grateful for the cool reprieve from the sun's relentless assault. He jumped a little when a door automatically opened behind him, but after collecting himself, the Soothsayer walked through it.

He found himself in a wide room, walls lined with metallic plates, and devoid of any life. He had expected as much, but he still found himself feeling lonely. He missed his comrades from long ago so much, but there wasn't any guarantee they had survived, so he dismissed the longing and instead focused on investigating the room.

It didn't take him long to find what he was looking for; by far the most interesting part of the room, the Wandering Soothsayer found himself standing in front of a large computer, with an imposing monitor in front of him. The monitor itself was of curious design; it was divided up into seven smaller screens, all arranged in a circle with six surrounding one in the center of them. And yet, the monitors were turned off. With a shaky pale hand, the Soothsayer pressed a key on the keyboard that was attached to the computer, and at once the whirring sound of the machine coming back to life from sleep mode assaulted his ears.

However, only one of the screens turned on, and what he saw on it sent him on a wave of confusion.

He was seeing a white-haired teen clad in a blue hoodie and some jeans as he traversed an unknown landscape that seemed to be on fire.

Who... was this young man?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The mystery deepens and the plot expands; hopefully the update rate will also expand!
> 
> Yaaaay for exposition!
> 
> I want to get to the hijack parts already but ~world building~
> 
> Until next time, see ya!


End file.
